You Are My Sweet Addiction
by Leanex
Summary: Roxas leaves one life of chaos behind and believes he will enter a better life. But he doesn't know how wrong he is. He soon goes back to his ways of self harm and picks up a new addiction along the way. Will Axel be able to save him from this? Pre-quel to New Schools and Old Friends. Rated m to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I am rewriting This story because I feel like its going too fast and it kinda sucks and blah blah blah so yeah, that is what will be happening here.**

**Warnings: self mutilation drug addiction abuse swearing possible sexual themes, I'll work that out later.**

**Disclaimer: I, of course, own nothing.**

* * *

><p>Roxas stood before his black haired boyfriend, his arms crossed and gripping them as if his life depended on it.<p>

"I don't care Xigbar! We're done! I'm so glad I'm moving away now!" Roxas said as tears streamed down his face.

"But Roxas, babe, you gotta listen to me!" Xigbar said, hoping he could explain himself to the blond. Roxas shook his head.

"I'm not listening to you anymore Xigbar. I've had it with you and all your bullshit. Just leave me the fuck alone." Roxas said, and with that he turned on his heel and walked quickly away from the man. Xigbar watched the boy retreat, and he could have sworn his heart was breaking at the sight.

* * *

><p>Roxas stomped through his front door, slamming it shut behind him and slipping his shoes off his feet.<p>

"I'm home!" He called out, expecting to hear his mother's voice greeting him, but instead he heard his cousin Sora. Roxas raised an eyebrow, wondering why Sora was here and his mother wasn't. He walked over to the living room and found Sora sitting on the couch watching reruns of the Gilmore Girls.

"Why the fuck are you watching the Gilmore Girls?" Roxas asked. Sora shrugged then looked over to Roxas. His eyes widened and worry could be clearly seen in his sky blue eyes.

"Roxas what happened?" Sora asked as he got off the couch to approach his cousin. Roxas shook his head.

"It's nothing Sora, don't worry about it." Roxas said. Sora put on his stern face and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Roxas don't give me that crap. Now tell me what's the matter." Roxas sighed and walked over to the couch, sitting down where Sora had been seated.

"I broke up with Xigbar." Roxas said quietly.

"He's such an asshole, I should have just listened to you Sora." Fresh tears were beginning to form in the blond's eyes and he could feel the lump in his throat coming back. Sora looked at him sadly then pulled him into a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Roxas. Do you want to talk about it?" Sora asked. Roxas nodded slowly and swallowed the lump in his throat, then he began to tell Sora everything that had happened with Xigbar. Sora nodded in understanding as he listened to his cousin go on. Roxas was thankful that Sora didn't stop him to ask questions or anything, and by the end of the story Sora was sitting there with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well Roxas, I think this is probably all for the best. I mean, you're going to be moving soon anyways. Hey, maybe you'll meet someone better than Xigbar, someone who will treat you right." Sora said with a sympathetic smile. Roxas shrugged.

"Maybe." He said quietly. _But probably not._He added in his head. Sora noticed the look of sadness still on his cousins face and frowned slightly.

"Don't worry Roxas! I'm sure things will start looking up for you real soon!" Sora said, cheerfully, putting on a big smile for the blond. Roxas couldn't help but smile back at Sora, though his smile wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as the brunet's. Maybe Sora was right. Maybe things were going to get a lot better soon. He should really think like Sora more. It couldn't possibly be good for his health to be as negative as he was.

"Thanks Sora. You're a great cousin." Roxas said. Sora laughed.

"I know I am. Now how about I go grab some ice cream from the freezer and we can watch a movie together?" Sora suggested. Roxas smiled and nodded.

"That sounds great Sora."

Sora nodded and stood from the couch.

"Alright, you put in a movie and I'll be right back with the ice cream."

"Don't eat it all on the way back Sora!" Roxas teased. Sora laughed and nodded.

"I'll try!"

* * *

><p>"Demyx!" Axel yelled, pouncing on his best friend that was sprawled out on the couch. The impact of Axel's body landing on Demyx's knocked the air right out of him with an 'oof'. Demyx gasped for air for a moment before finally replying to the red head.<p>

"What the hell Axel?" Demyx asked.

"I'm bored!" Axel said with a cheeky grin.

"So you jump on me?!" Demyx asked. Axel nodded.

"Yup! But I'm still bored Demy." Demyx sighed.

"What do you want me to do?" Demyx asked. Axel sat back on his haunches and thought for a moment, stroking his chin with his hand.

"Seranade me!" Axel said after a moment.

"Seranade you?" Demyx asked, making sure he'd heard the other right.

"Yeah! Play me a song on your sitar!" Axel said. Demyx sighed, but smiled none the less.

"Alright, hold on a minute and I'll go grab her." He said, standing up from the couch and hurrying up to his bedroom. While Demyx was gone, Axel moved so that he was sitting upside down on the couch. Demyx chuckled and shook his head when he came back into the room and saw Axel's legs dangling over the back of the couch. Demyx walked over to the couch and plopped himself down beside Axel.

"Any requests?" Demyx asked as he strummed a couple chords. Axel shook his head.

"Nope. Play whatever you want!" Axel said. Demyx chuckled at his friends enthusiasm and nodded. He played an up beat tune that Axel recognized as one of the songs Demyx had written. It lasted for about four and a half minutes, and at the end Axel raised his hands up and clapped.

"Yay!" Axel said happily. He swung his legs around and sat up on the couch. Immediately a wave of dizziness swept over Axel from this action and he quickly grabbed his head.

"You okay man?" Demyx asked, looking at Axel worriedly. Axel slowly nodded.

"Yeah, just a bit dizzy." He said, smiling at his friend to show that he was indeed fine.

"Um... You sure?" Demyx asked, his eyebrows pinching together.

"Yeah Dem. Why?" Axel said, looking at Demyx curiously.

"Because your nose is bleeding." Demyx said. Axel's eyes widened slightly and he touched his fingers under his nose. When he pulled back, sure enough, there was blood on his fingers.

"Well shit." Axel said. He pinched his nose closed and tilted his head back to try and stop the blood flow. Demyx pulled him up by his arm and dragged him into the kitchen. He placed Axel by the sink then hurried off to go find a towel for Axel to wipe the blood up with. After a few minutes Demyx came walking back into the kitchen with a red towel. Axel took it greatfully then placed it under his nose. Demyx shook his head and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Axel asked, looking at Demyx from the corner of his eye.

"Dude, you're such a moron." He said, smirking at his friend.

"You're one to talk! You're always getting nose bleeds from sitting upside down Dem!" Axel said.

"Yeah, but it's okay if I'm stupid. You're supposed to be the smart one in this friendship!" Demyx said with a laugh.

"What, so I'm not allowed to have moments of stupidity?" Axel asked. Demyx grinned and shook his head.

"Nope!"

Axel laughed and pushed his shoulder.

"Hey man, did you hear about the new student coming next week?" Demyx asked after a moment of standing there in silence against the counter.

"No. But then again, my teacher probably did mention him and I just wasn't listening. Isn't that the second new student this year?" Axel said. Demyx shook his head.

"No, he's the third. I feel bad for the new kid's though. They all just become new toys for Larxene to play with." Demyx said.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it Dem. The new kids always find their little clique and they teach them how to deal with the fucking bitch. Unless she decides that they are worthy to hang out with her. But that rarely happens." Axel said. Demyx sighed and shrugged as he hopped up onto the counter next to the sink.

"I guess. I was talking to Sora about it earlier. He said the new kid was his cousin." Demyx said. Axel slapped Demyx on the leg lightly.

"See! This kid is already guaranteed to be okay! Anything happens, Sora will go to Riku and bat his pretty eyes and Riku will kick their asses!" Axel said with a cheeky grin. Demyx chuckled and shrugged.

"Whatever. Though Riku doesn't melt that easily Ax." Demyx said.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Axel said, waving off the blond and heading back into the living room.

* * *

><p>A week later and Roxas had finally moved. He was finally away from Xigbar, and he was ready to leave all his troubles behind and start a new life in Destiny Islands. It had been a pretty quick move, seeing as Destiny Islands was just an hour away from Twilight Town, but it was still tiring. Especially since they'd spent the weekend unpacking most of the house. Now, it was Monday morning, and his mother was driving him up to his school on her way to work.<p>

"Okay sweetie, have a good day at school, I love you." His mother said as she pulled up to the school.

"Love you too Mom. I'll see you after school." Roxas said. He hopped out of the car and started walking up to the large brick building as his mother drove away.

"Roxas!"

Said boy looked up at the sound of the familiar voice calling his name and found his cousin sitting with his two best friends, Riku and Kairi. Roxas smiled and waved at Sora, whom started running over to the blond.

"Roxas, how have you been?" Sora said. Roxas shrugged.

"I'm better than I was a week ago. What about you?" Roxas said with a small smile.

"I'm great! Hey, you remember Riku and Kairi right?" He said as the two joined us.

"Yeah, hey Riku, Kairi." Roxas said. Riku nodded in recognition.

"Hi Roxas." Kairi said happily with a bright smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Axel sat at his desk, right next to Demyx, slouching in his seat with his feet propped up on the chair of the desk in front of his. His hands were on the back of his head as he gazed at the chalkboard before him with half lidded eyes. He'd tried to talk to Demyx several times to relieve him of his boredom, but Demyx just shushed him and continued to focus on his unfinished homework. He suddenly heard the students in the room start to lower their voices to a whisper. He knew it wasn't the teacher, he would have told them to stop talking when he entered the room. And it wasn't Larxene because the whole room would have gone silent had it been her. He couldn't think of any other students that had an affect on the others. He glanced over to the doorway and spotted a boy with blond hair walking up the aisles of chairs. It was apparent that this kid didn't care about the obvious whispers about himself floating about the room from the way he kept his head up and looked straight ahead.<p>

"Dem." Axel said, backhanding the boy beside him on the arm.

"What the hell, Axel?" Demyx said, looking up at the red head in slight irritation as he rubbed at his abused arm.

"Check out the new kid." Axel said, nodding his head in the boys direction.

"Axel, don't be like the rest of the students." Demyx said, looking back down at his homework.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Axel asked, looking at Demyx oddly. Demyx sighed, and, with a roll of his eyes, looked back up at Axel.

"Axel how do you think the new kids feel when everyone stares at them and whispers about them, which I don't understand why they whisper because it's very obvious what they're talking about!" Demyx said. Axel stared at him for a moment with a blank expression and a slightly raised brow.

"Are you good now?" Axel asked.

"Not really, but you can go ahead and say what you need to!" Demyx said, crossing his arms across his chest and pouting at the chalkboard.

"Okay, Dem, the only reason I wanted you to look at him was to see how damn hot he was." He said with a grin. Demyx rolled his eyes once more.

"Axel, don't start this again." Demyx said, going back to doing his homework. Axel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Start what again?" He asked.

"Don't... Start doing what you always do! You find a guy you like then you start obsessing about him and flirt with him endlessly. Then you never shut up about him, and if he turns you down you start moping about. You're just annoying when you like guys." Demyx said with a huff. Axel stared at him for a moment. Demyx furrowed his brows in worry, wondering if he'd hurt the red head's feelings.

"You okay, Ax?"

"Did you know that sometimes you say something, and it goes in one ear and comes out the other?" Axel asked, looking curiously at Demyx.

"That's just mean Axel!" Demyx said, crossing his arms and pouting.

"Oh come on Dem, like you're not annoying about that Sexion kid you've been in love with since elementary school. How many songs have you wrote for him? And I've listened to every single one of them!" Axel said, smirking and sitting back in his chair. Demyx opened his mouth to retort, but, just then, Larxene walked into the room. She looked around the small space, as if trying to figure out which poor teenager she was going to torment today, and when she spotted the new kid in the back she smiled evilly and started towards him.

"Now, if you will excuse me Dem, I'm gonna go save the new kid from the devil." Axel said, grabbing his bag from the floor and rushing past Larxene to take the seat right next to the boy. The blond looked up, startled by the sudden movement beside him.

"Hey, what's up?" Axel said with a brilliant smile As he waved off the wicked witch that was glaring daggers at him.

"What is he your new boyfriend?" She hissed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Not yet. But that's none of your business, Larxene. Hey look, your cheating girlfriend is in the front there, why don't you go piss him off? He's a masochist isn't he? I'm sure he loves your abuse." Axel said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh har har har, you're so hilarious."

"I know, it comes naturally." Larxene glared at the red head for a moment longer, then rolled her eyes and turned away with a scoff.

"Whatever. You can't protect him forever you know." Larxene said as she walked away.

"I'll bet you on that!" He said.

"What the hell was that?" The blond asked, startling Axel. He'd almost completely forgotten the boy was there. He recovered from it quickly though and gave the boy his most dazzling smile.

"That was Larxene. She claims to be human, but that has yet to be proven." The boy looked at him with the most deadpanned look he'd ever seen.

"That's not what I meant." He said. Axel shrugged and put his hands behind his head.

"Doesn't matter. What does matter though, is your name. So, care to tell me it?" He said with a seductive smirk, turning his head to look at the boy. The blond rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help the small smile tugging at the corner's of his mouth.

"And why should I tell you that?" He asked, looking straight into Axel's eyes. The red head was slightly taken aback by this and just stared into the blond's eyes for a moment. They we're blue like the early night sky, and the twinkle in them made it all the more real as they shone like the stars.

"I can think of a few reasons, but which one would you like?" He asked, his eyes sparkling mischieviously. The boy glanced over to the clock, then looked back to Axel.

"None." He said, turning away from Axel and looking to the front of the room as the teacher walked in.

"Take a seat everyone, eyes up front and stop talking."

* * *

><p>"Roxas! Wait up!" Said blond turned to see his cousin running up to him. Roxas stopped walking and waited for the brunet to catch up to him.<p>

"What's up Sora?" Roxas said, smiling as the boy slung his arm around his shoulders and walked beside him.

"Not much. Did you have a good first day?" Sora said, looking curiously at the blond. Roxas shrugged.

"I guess so. This one guy wouldn't leave me alone though." Roxas said as he looked up at the sky, thinking about the boy with the stunningly red hair and the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. The only thing he could think of that compared to the shade was acid, but even that didn't seem correct to the blond.

"Really? What was his name?" Sora asked. Roxas paused for a moment. He actually hadn't learned the red heads name. Though if he'd asked he probably wouldn't tell him if he had since Roxas wouldn't give him his name.

"I don't know." Roxas said, shaking his head slightly.

"Well, what did he look like?" Sora asked, getting anxious now to find out who had bugged his cousin all day. Roxas shrugged as he stopped walking to wait in line to get on the bus.

"Fire truck red hair that was styled in gravity defying spikes and it came a little past his shoulders. Stunning green eyes, kind of like acid, but even that doesn't seem like the proper shade. It's kind of like they're a shade all their own. And he was very slim, skinnier than any male I've ever met, but you can tell that he's got a bit of muscle on him. And his hips, oh god those hips." Roxas said, looking off into the distance in a slight daze as he thought about the red head.

"I asked you to describe a person not a god." Sora said with a laugh.

"Oh come on Sora, you've got to admit, I am very God like." Roxas turned and found the red head, standing next to him. The blond he'd seen him with in class that morning was with him as well, but he didn't seem to be paying much attention to his friend since he was on his phone, listening intently to the person on the other end. Sora laughed at the boy's input.

"Oh sure A-"

"Don't!" The red head yelled, cutting off Sora. Sora blinked in confusion as Roxas looked on slightly shocked. Not by the fact that the boy had stopped Sora from saying his name, but by the sudden outburst.

"Don't what?" Sora asked in confusion.

"Don't say my name." He said. Sora furrowed his brows and tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Why?" The brunet asked. The red head smirked and shoved his hands in his pocket.

"Well you see, you're cousin won't tell me his name yet, so I figure if I can't know his name he can't know mine. Seems only fair doesn't it?" He said. Sora looked between Roxas and the red head oddly.

"You two are very strange. But fine, I won't tell either of you the others name." Sora said, placing his hands behind his head and crossing one leg behind the other.

"Thanks." He said, winking at Sora.

"Hey, A-" The red head clamped his hand over the blond's mouth. Said blond's eyes widened for a moment, then his brows pinched together and he looked at his friend with slight irritation.

"Dem, we're you not listening to anything I just said. Don't. Say. My name." The red head said. The blond stared for a moment longer then...

"Oh ew! Really Demyx, you had to lick me?!" He yelled in disgust, wiping his hand off on his pants in disgust.

"Yes, yes I did. Now come on Liono my mom's here." Demyx said.

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute." He said, waving off the blond. Demyx rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Hey, come here for a sec." Demyx said, looking at Roxas. Roxas looked up and Demyx nodded his head. The two boys walked a good distance away from Sora and the red head. Demyx looked over at them once more to make sure he stayed put.

"I'm Demyx, as you heard just moments ago. Just wanted to meet you before I go." Demyx said, smiling at Roxas. Roxas glanced back at the red head then looked back at Demyx.

"Can I trust you?" Roxas asked. Demyx rolled his eyes, but the smile stayed in place.

"Like you can trust Sora." He said. Roxas stared at him for a moment then smiled.

"I'm Roxas. It's nice to meet you Demyx." He said happily, holding out his hand for Demyx to shake.

"It was nice to meet you too Roxas." He said, shaking his hand. "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow." Roxas nodded, but just as Demyx was about to leave he stopped him.

"Can I ask you a quick question?" Roxas asked. Demyx looked at him curiously but nodded.

"What's up with your friend? He hasn't even officially met me yet, but he's already all over me." Roxas said. Demyx stood there for a moment, thinking over his answer then shrugged.

"That's just how he is. When he likes someone he's very up front about it. He wants to be with that person as fast as possible. But also, you've turned this into a chase, and A-"

"Don't!" Roxas said quickly, cutting him off. Demyx looked at him in confusion.

"I thought you wanted to know his name? I mean, that was just a slip of the tongue, but still." Demyx said. Roxas quickly shook his head.

"I don't want to know until he tells me." Roxas said. Demyx looked at him oddly.

"Why?" He asked. Roxas shrugged, and looked over to Axel, whom was now beside Sora, looking over at Roxas and Demyx and talking. Sora, however, was clutching one hand to his stomach and the other was on his knee as he doubled over in laughter at what ever the red head was saying. When he caught Roxas looking in their direction he turned away quickly and tapped Sora on the shoulder. The red head now acted as if he wasn't watching them and Sora straightened up, now trying to hold back his laughter. Roxas smiled and shook his head.

"I don't really know." He said at last. "Maybe it's the mystery of it all, or maybe it's just because I think it is fair. But no matter what it is, I do know this. I'm not ready. And not to know his name, but to get into the relationship that he's looking for. When I am ready though... Well, that will be the day I tell him my name." Roxas said. Demyx nodded in understanding.

"Well, I really gotta get going now, Rox. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Demyx said with a smile. Roxas nodded and smiled back at the blond.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow Demyx." He said as Demyx started to walk away.

"You know," he started, turning around and walking backwards. "He's going to be talking about you the whole car ride home!" Demyx called out, loud enough for the red head to hear.

"Dude!" He yelled, arms up in the air and giving Demyx his 'what the fuck' face. Demyx simply laughed and ran off, waving goodbye to Roxas. Roxas chuckled and hurried back over to Sora and the red head. The boy had crossed his arms over his chest and was muttering to himself as he glared at Demyx's retreating form. The line to get on the bus had already moved considerably. With a sigh the red head ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, I better go and kill Demyx now. I'll catch you later chocobo!" He said with a wink. He then started to hurry off to catch up with Demyx.

"Oh that's real clever!" Roxas yelled. He turned around and grinned.

"Isn't it?!" He yelled back. Roxas shook his head and smiled, and with that, he turned back around and continued to sprint.

"You like him don't you?" Sora asked as they made their way onto the bus. Roxas's head snapped to the side so he could look at Sora incredulously.

"What?! No way!" Roxas said as he walked down the aisle to the back.

"Oh don't give me that. It's so obvious Roxas!" Sora said. Roxas could feel his cheeks warming as he took his seat.

"Okay, I'll admit, he is hot. But Sora I'm not ready for a relationship with anyone. You of all people should know that." Roxas said.

"Of course. I'm not forcing you into anything Roxas. Just teasing you." He said with a cheeky grin.

"Oh, by the way. About you and Mr. Sexy Butt not wanting to know each others names, Kairi and I can spread the word and make sure no one tells you two. If you want that is." Sora said. Roxas shook his head.

"No, that would just be really weird. Besides I like the surprise of it all." Roxas said, turning his head to stare out the window as Sora nodded in understanding.

* * *

><p><strong>so, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there will be more to come for sure.<strong>

**Just because this was in the original chapter, and I find it kind of important, if you have read new schools and old friends then you should know that Roxas tells Zexion in one of the chapters that he used to have an addiction to self harm and drugs so the title not only is referring to that addiction, but also how Axel is his addiction, later when he gets off the drugs and stops hurting himself Axel is what's there keeping him clean. Hope you understood that, cause I got lost somewhere in writing that. Just ask me if you need clarification. Well, I'll catch ya later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This story clearly states in chapter one that I do not own Kindom Hearts and all of the warnings of what this story will entail in the future chapters. So, from here on out I will no longer write the warnings and disclaimers as they have already been told to you. If you don't remember go look at chapter one. If you chose to ignore it that is your problem. I'm not trying to sound rude or anything, I am just making this clear so as to avoid any potential problems in the future. I apologize if this has offended you in any way, but it never hurt anyone to take precautions. Now, on with the story. I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>Roxas was seated in the back of the bus by himself, since the bus driver hadn't reached Sora's house yet. He was still kind of half asleep after staying up pretty late to do homework since he had spent most of his night screwing around on the internet. So due to his sleep hazed brain, he didn't really notice when the bus stopped at this specific corner with a certain red head waiting there. And he didn't notice when the boy had stepped on and realized how empty the seat next to him was. What did snap him back into reality though was the arm that slipped onto his shoulder and pulled him into a slight one armed hug.<p>

"Hey Blondie! How's it going?" The red head said cheerfully with a wide smile plastered on his face. Roxas looked at the red head for a moment, trying to figure out when the other boy had gotten there. The boy raised a brow then waved his hand in front of the blond's face.

"You okay there Blondie?" He asked. Roxas blinked a couple times then nodded.

"I'm fine. Just kind of tired." Roxas said.

"Oh, I know that feeling all too well. In fact, I stayed up for three days straight just a few days ago then fell into a miniture coma at Dem's house. I woke up the next day still pretty tired, but I just couldn't manage to get back to sleep." He said. Roxas chuckled quietly and shook his head.

"Sounds like a blast." He said, turning his gaze back to the window.

"Damn skippy!" The red head said with a grin. Roxas looked over to him with an odd expression.

"Damn skippy?" Roxas asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"What?" The red head asked with a raised brow. Roxas shrugged and allowed a small smile to grace his features.

"Nothing, it's just..." He started, his lips turning downward in a frown as he trailed off in thought for a moment.

"Just what?" The red head asked when Roxas didn't continue. He shook his head slightly then smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, it's just, I've only ever heard one other person say that." Roxas said.

The red head nodded, then placed a hand to his chin as he thought.

"So, from the look on your face and your body language, I'm going to assume you don't like this person. Am I right?" He asked. Roxas blinked a couple times then raised his brow.

"And how would you know from that?" Roxas asked. The red head shrugged then placed his hands behind his head.

"Well, it could have been the way your eyebrows pinched together and the frown that came across your face, or it could have been how you trailed off just from thinking about them. Or how you suddenly tensed up thinking about them. Or it could have been how your hands balled into fists, and from the look of confusion on your face now I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and guess that you didn't even realize you had done those last two." The red head said.

"You're a lot more observant than you appear." Roxas said with a chuckle. The red head smiled and nodded.

"That's what everyone says. But you can't judge a book by it's cover you know! You've got to at least read the synopsis." He said with a grin.

"That's enough about me though, I wanna know who this person is that irritates you so much. If you want to tell me that is. It's cool if you don't want me to know." Roxas contemplated whether or not he should really tell the red head. He'd already told Demyx that he wasn't ready for a relationship yet, and he hoped that he took that as he'd just broken up with someone else. If he had taken it that way though, Roxas would at least like to believe Demyx hadn't told the red head, knowing that it was kind of personal. Well, it's not like it's really a secret that he'd just broken up with someone, except for when that person was his father. Roxas didn't want to think about that man right now though, it would just be too painful.

"Hello! Earth to Blondie!" The red head said, waving his hand in front of Roxas's face. The blond snapped out of his thoughts, then blushed lightly.

"Sorry... It was an ex." Roxas said. The red head smirked.

"An ex... Girlfriend?" He asked, silently praying he was wrong. That way, he'd at least know the blond's sexual orientation. Roxas slowly shook his head.

"No... A boyfriend." He said, biting his lip and staring intently at the red head. The boy nodded and tried to seem indifferent, but he couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips.

"So is this guy the reason you're not ready for a relationship? Or is it like Demyx assumed and you want to get to know me better?" He asked, now staring at Roxas with a raised brow. Roxas sighed as his earlier thoughts were confirmed. Demyx had told the red head.

"So he did tell you." Roxas said quietly.

"Well, in Dem's defense he didn't really want to tell me anything. The only thing he told me was that you weren't ready for a relationship with me and he assumed it was because you wanted to get to know me. And even to get that from him I had to annoy the crap out of him till he would. Everyone thinks that because of the way Demyx normally acts that he wouldn't be good at keeping secrets, but in all actuality he's more trust worthy than anyone I know. He's had Larxene harping on him before and he still wouldn't say anything. But Dem's biggest problem when it comes to Larxene and her cronies is that he's a pacifist. He's told me the only time he'd ever fight is to protect the people he loves." He said.

"He told me I could trust him like I could Sora." Roxas said. The boy chuckled and shook his head.

"That's just Dem being modest. You can trust Sora, but being his cousin you've gotta know that he's a bit of a gossip. Now it's mostly just with Kairi, and Sora thinks there's no harm in telling her little things. But Kairi has been the main source of most of the rumors around the school. Now some things she'll say are true, and even though they may seem little they're probably things that people wanted the entire school to know." He said.

"So, Demyx is more trust worthy than anyone in school?" Roxas asked, raising a brow.

"Oh hell yeah. I'd trust that kid with my life." He said. Roxas chuckled and smiled questioningly at the red head.

"So he's more trust worthy than you? Maybe I should stop telling you things about myself that I don't want getting out." Roxas said, tapping his finger to his chin. His eyes widened slightly and he blinked a couple times.

"What? No! You can trust me, the only person I'd tell is Dem, and that's if you're okay with it. I wouldn't tell him if you didn't want me to though!" He said hurriedly. Roxas smiled teasingly at the red head.

"Yeah suuuure." Roxas said.

"Blondie, you can trust me, I swear! If Demyx was here he would too!" He said, grabbing Roxas by the shoulders then shaking him slightly. Roxas laughed and grabbed the red heads wrists to stop him from shaking him.

"Okay! I believe you! Just stop shaking me, your giving me a head ache." He said, still laughing. The red head looked at him for a moment then smirked mischievously.

"Oh I'm sorry Blondie. Here, let me kiss it better!" He said, puckering his lips and trying to pull Roxas toward him.

"Gah! Dammit, let me go!" Roxas said, trying to push him away, but still laughing.

"Hey! Stop trying to molest my cousin!" Sora said as he sat behind the two. The red head suddenly stopped, then looked at Sora with a pout.

"Aw, but it's so much fun!" He said, hugging Roxas to his chest, but still pouting at the brunet.

"I don't care! We're in public!" Sora said. A cat like grin then spread across the red head's face.

"So I can't molest him in public huh?" He asked. Sora's eyes widened and his face paled slightly.

"No! That's not-!" Sora started but was cut off by the red head.

"Hey Blondie, how about after school you come over my house? Maybe we can do 'homework' together?" He purred seductively into the blond's ear. Roxas shivered from the feeling of the red head's breath ghosting over his ear. Roxas pulled away from the red head, just enough to turn an look at him though, then a mischievous smirk settled on his lips.

"Why wait till after? There's bathrooms in the school." Roxas said. He heard Sora choke beside him, but continued to look at the red head.

"Oh, but Blondie, I don't even know your name." He purred, moving his face closer to Roxas's and placing his finger under his chin.

"Oh, I didn't know you needed my name for sex. You can forget it then." Roxas said, lightly pushing the red head away from him then crossing his arms over his chest and looking out the window.

"Oh, you wound me!" He said dramatically, placing one hand over his heart and the other to his forehead as if he was about to faint. Roxas glanced over to the red head then rolled his eyes.

"You are such a drama queen." Roxas said with a laugh. The red head quickly recovered and smirked at Roxas.

"But you like it right?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Roxas laughed.

"Get real! That's only in your dreams Red!" Roxas said.

"Mmm every night Blondie, every night." He purred.

"God, you two are so weird!" Sora suddenly said, pushing Roxas's head then sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Like your not Sora?" Roxas said with a laugh. Sora stuck his tongue out at the blond.

"I don't hide my name from people."

"I'm only hiding it from him, not everyone else." Roxas corrected.

"And I don't mind so much. It's kinda like a game. Besides, it just makes me want him more." The red head said with a cheeky grin.

_Wow, Demyx wasn't lying. He really is up front when he likes someone._ Roxas thought. Though, he wasn't really surprised. Some how this attitude seemed to fit him well.

"Whatever, I didn't hide my name from Kairi." Sora said.

"That's different, you've known Kairi since you were in elementary. And you didn't even realize you liked her till you were twelve when you stopped thinking girls were 'icky'. And after Riku finally told you girls don't have cooties." Roxas said, rolling his eyes at the memory of six year old Sora telling him all about cooties and that he should stay away from girls. The red head laughed as Sora blushed.

"God, just shut up already, R- Dammit! Shush!" Sora said, covering his face with his hands. Roxas sighed and shook his head as he face palmed.

"Ooo an R name huh? Wonder what it could be..." The red head said, smirking as he tapped his chin in thought.

"Ryan...? Robert...? Richard...?" Axel questioned, rolling his r's as he spoke. Roxas simply sat there, shaking his head, but he couldn't help the smile on his face.

Finally, the bus stopped outside the school and the driver opened the doors to let everyone file off.

"I'll find out soon enough Blondie!" He said as he hopped up from his seat and headed for the doors.

"As if!" Roxas said, quickly following behind him. Sora sighed and shook his head at the two. He couldn't help but think how perfect they were together. He was glad though, because him already this close to Axel after only a day of knowing him meant that he was getting over Xigbar. And Roxas definitely needed that.

* * *

><p>"He~y Demyx!" Axel said, grinning from ear to ear as he slid into the seat beside the blonde. Demyx glanced around him for a moment then smiled at the red head.<p>

"Hey Axel! How was math?" Demyx said, already knowing what Axel would say.

"Long, boring, same as always. Hey, have you seen Blondie? I tried to talk to him after class, but he said he had to take care of something important and darted out." Axel said. Axel was now staring intently at the doors of the school. It had been a week and a half now since Axel had met the blonde, and so far they had really hit it off. He'd been eating lunch with Demyx and himself every other day and Axel would sit with him on the bus every morning. Demyx thought for a moment, looking up at the sky as he did.

"Can't say I have. Are you worried about him?" Demyx said, looking at his friend curiously. Axel's brows were pinched together and his lips were tugged down in a frown.

"Axel?" Demyx said, trying to get his friends attention when he said nothing.

"It's just, I saw Marluxia standing outside the class room when Blondie left." Axel said. Demyx shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. He doesn't seem like the time of kid that will go down easily." Demyx said as he turned back to his lunch. Axel sighed and nodded.

"I guess. It's just, I don't want Larxene anywhere near him. And if they attack him, Blondie is really out numbered." Axel said. Demyx looked at him in confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about? There's only three of them, and Vexen refuses to fight. The only one that could injure him badly is Larxene, and I think he can fend her off." Demyx said.

"Not if Marluxia has a hold on him." Axel said, his anger steadily rising. Demyx couldn't really think of how to reason with that. With a sigh the blond picked up his lunch and tossed it in the near by trash.

"Come on, let's go find him. Or Sora. Which ever we find first, it still benefits us." Demyx said, standing from his seat and heading toward the school. Axel blinked a couple times in confusion, then hopped up from his seat and hurried after Demyx.

* * *

><p>"You know, I like you Roxas. You got spirit. How would you like to hang out with us?" Larxene said, grinning at the boy. This grin was off though. There was something unsettling about it. He couldn't help but recall the things the red haired boy had said to him about Larxene. She didn't really sound like the kind of person Roxas wanted to hang out with.<p>

"Thanks, but I'd rather not. I'm not really the social type." Roxas said, knowing he was half lying. He normally tended to be by himself or with a select few of close knit friends, and with the way things had been going with the red head he was quite sure he'd already found his group. The plus side about this group though was that they didn't bully others. Larxene did.

"Oh, that's the wrong answer Roxas." She said with fake sadness. Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Look, it's been nice talking with you, but I really have to go. My cousin is waiting for me." He said, turning to walk away, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder and spun back around to face Larxene again.

"Roxas, we didn't tell you that you could leave yet. No, we're not done with you yet." Larxene said with an evil smile. Suddenly the girls phone went off playing "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin. She sighed and rolled her eyes, plucking the phone from her pocket and looking at the caller ID.

"What!" She snapped into the small device when she answered. She listened intently for a moment then huffed.

"Fine, I'll be there in a minute." She said then hung up and shoved the phone back in her pocket. She turned on her heel and started strolling down the hall.

"Have fun Marly~!" She sang over her shoulder, leaving Roxas standing there with the pink haired boy that he'd come to know as Marluxia. Marluxia sighed, obviously unhappy with having to do the blonde's dirty work. The man grabbed Roxas by the front of the shirt and dragged him forward, rearing his fist back to punch him. Before he could though Roxas kicked him in the shin, causing Marluxia to release his shirt and instead grab his abused shin. Roxas took that opportunity to take off running down the empty hall, but as he turned the corner he ran into a firm slim body.

"Blondie!" The person said, grabbing Roxas by the shoulders to keep him from falling on his ass.

"Hey Red... What's up?" Roxas said breathlessly.

"I think we could ask you the same thing." Demyx said.

"What the hell happened to you?" The red head asked, looking over Roxas worriedly.

"I'm fine. Larxene just came to talk to me. I pissed her off and she basically told Marluxia to kick my ass." Roxas said.

"What did Larxene want?" The red head asked worriedly.

"She asked if I wanted to hang out with her and her friends and I told her no." Roxas said. Demyx and the red head looked at each other with wide eyes.

"You told Larxene no? And she didn't kick your ass personally?" Demyx asked.

"She got a phone call. Otherwise, I think she would have." Roxas said. Demyx and the red head looked at each other questioningly.

"Well, at least your safe Blondie." He said, slipping his arm over Roxas's shoulders and guiding him down the hall.

"So hey, Dem and I were talking earlier and we were thinking about hanging out at my place all weekend, would you like to join us?" The red head asked. Roxas stared at him for a moment.

"Um... I'll have to ask my mom about it, but I will if I can." Roxas said. The red head grinned.

"Awesome! Just let me know by tomorrow. My brother is gonna pick us up from school." Roxas nodded in agreement and the trio continued down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

Axel walked quickly through the halls of the school in search of his older brother. Honestly, he couldn't believe he was actually going to his brother for a ride home. He hadn't had to do that for almost a year. That had been the day he'd missed the bus and Demyx was out sick. Now, it wasn't because Axel disliked his brother. He was cool and did a lot of nice things for Axel, but his brother tended to tease Axel a lot. Normally Axel was okay with teasing, him and Demyx were always going back and forth between each other, but it was different with his brother. Maybe it had something to do with them being brothers. Maybe that's why it was different.

"Axel? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice asked, snapping the red head out of his thoughts. He looked up and found his brother standing in front of him with his friend Zack, both looking at him questioningly.

"Uh, Reno are you heading straight home?" Axel asked awkwardly.

"Huh? Yeah. Why, is Demyx out sick again?" Reno asked with a teasing smile. Axel rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No. I actually need you to drive me Demyx and another friend back to our house." Axel said.

"I guess I could. If you ask nicely that is." Reno said with a cheeky grin. Axel sighed and rolled his eyes again.

"Will you please be a cool big brother and give me and my friends a ride home?" Axel asked in a fake nice tone, smiling and batting his eyelashes at Reno. Reno laughed and patted his brother on the head.

"Sure thing baby bro. I'll go get my car and drive it around front while you get your friends." He said, turning to leave, but he was stopped by a hand grabbing his shoulder. He turned back around with a curious look on his face. Axel was looking off to the side with a serious expression.

"What's wrong?" Reno asked worriedly.

"It's nothing big, it's just... The friend I mentioned coming along with us. The thing is we haven't told each other our names, don't laugh." Axel said quietly, watching his brother as he bit his lips together to keep from laughing.

"Look, I'll give you all the details later. But for now, I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell him my name." Axel said, looking at his brother hopefully. The older red head chuckled and ruffled his brother's hair.

"Sure thing, Ax. Now," Reno said, turning Axel around. "Go get your friends and I'll meet you out front!" He tapped his ass playfully then pushed him away, causing the younger boy to stumble.

"Come on Zack! We have children to torment!" Reno said, grinning from ear to ear. Zack chuckled and shook his head.

"Your brother's gonna kick your ass one of these days Reno." Zack said.

"I'd like to see him try!"

* * *

><p>That Friday afternoon Roxas and Demyx were standing in the parking lot, waiting for the red head to show up. He'd taken off after his last class telling Demyx that he had to take care of some business with his brother. All the two blonds could assume was that the red head had to convince his brother to give them a ride home because he hadn't asked the day before.<p>

"Dem we've been waiting for almost fifteen minutes, what the hell is he doing?" Roxas asked, sighing in irritation. Demyx shrugged and looked back to the school.

"I don't really know. Though Grell doesn't really get along with his brother too well. Since he's the younger brother, Reno likes to pick on him and tick him off. So they're probably going through a whole debate about Reno driving us home." Demyx said. Roxas nodded in understanding.

"You're really enjoying him and I not knowing each others names aren't you?" Roxas asked after a moment of silence. Demyx grinned.

"I am. It's nice to dip into my vast knowledge of anime and video games and pick out names of the red haired characters. Plus it kind of irritates him. Oh but just wait, Reno will be much worse. He won't even pick people with red hair." Demyx said, bouncing on his heels and looking up at the sky.

"Reno sounds like a slightly more annoying version of Red." Roxas said with a small smile. Demyx chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, he basically is. If you tell it to him though he'll get pissed. If you tell Reno though he'll just laugh and agree." Demyx said.

"Oh, speak of the devil. Here he comes now." Demyx grinned and turned his back to the school so he was now facing Roxas. The red head was stomping down the steps quickly with a scowl on his face. His gaze was turned to the ground and he was grabbing the strap of his back pack tightly.

"You wanna piss him off?" Demyx asked with a mischievous grin. He was now standing next to Roxas with his hands behind his head, and tilting his head slightly to look at the blond.

"He looks pissed off enough." Roxas said with a smirk. Demyx shrugged.

"Eh it won't be so bad if it's coming from you. You can blame it on me if you want though. I've done it to him plenty of times before." Demyx said. Roxas looked at Demyx out of the corner of his eye.

"What do I do?" He asked.

"Call him Reno." Demyx said with a grin.

"That's mean Dem." Roxas said, but he couldn't help the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I know, but it's funny." He chuckled then turned his gaze back to the sky.

"Hey Reno, what kept you so long?" Roxas said with a smile as the red head finally got up to them. His head snapped up and Roxas could see the angry glint in the red head's eye, but he couldn't discern the expression on his face.

"Did you just call me Reno?" He asked. Roxas nodded and tried to keep the grin from his face. The red head's face dropped and his eyebrows pinched together.

"You're lucky I like you Blondie." He growled.

"What would you do Red?" Roxas asked, raising his brow suggestively and smirking.

"Oh I would have to punish you Blondie." He said with a seductive smirk, placing his finger under Roxas's chin and tilting his head upward slightly. He moved his face just close enough to the blond's so that the boy could feel his breath against his face.

"What the hell's stopping you?" Roxas teased.

"Oh baby brother! Time to go!" The red head frowned and pulled away from Roxas.

"That." He said as he looked over to where his brother was standing by his black Trans-am. Roxas's eyes widened slightly as he looked over at the older boy. His hair was the same striking red color as the red heads, but his hair was shorter.

"This is going to be fun." Demyx said sarcastically as he walked over to the car. The red head sighed and followed behind the blond at a slower place with Roxas walking right beside him.

"Do you really dislike your brother that much?" Roxas asked quietly. The red head glanced over to Roxas then shrugged.

"I don't really dislike him, he just pisses me off. You'll find out why over the week end. Or hey, maybe sooner than that, maybe you'll find out on the car ride home." He said. Roxas chuckled.

"Demyx already told me, he likes to pick on you and such." Roxas said. The red head chuckled.

"Dem needs to learn to exaggerate a bit more." He said.

"Hey, you must be the blond my baby brother told me so much about!" Reno said, suddenly very close to Roxas. This startled the blond and caused him to jump back slightly in surprise. Now that Roxas was much closer to Reno though he could now tell that Reno had green eyes just like his younger brother, but his were a darker shade than the younger red heads. He also had one red mark under each eye and now Roxas could tell he had a long ponytail that was falling over his shoulder.

"Hmm... You always did choose the really cute ones bro." Reno said with a slight smirk as he closely examined the boy's features. Roxas felt his cheeks warm slightly and he couldn't help but feel some what insecure.

"Leave him alone Reno." The red head said, pulling his brother away from Roxas.

"Whatever. Get in the car so we can go home." Reno said, walking around the car to the drivers side. Roxas now noticed that there was also another boy in the front seat. He had longish black hair with long bangs parted in the middle and framing around his face.

"Sorry about that." He said, smiling apologetically at Roxas. The blond shook his head.

"It's okay, I don't mind. He's just weird like you." Roxas said.

"I take offense to that." He said, though he smiled as he did.

"Now no funny business in the backseat! I'm talking to you Renji!" Reno said, pointing into the rear view mirror at the red head.

"Oh you're so hi-larious! Drive the fucking car already." He said, kicking Reno's seat.

"I'm not so sure I like the tone of your voice mister!" Reno said, turning to look at his brother with a smirk on his face.

"God Reno, can you just drive?" He asked.

"God's got nothin' to do with it." Reno said with a wink as he turned on the car.

"No, more like the devil." The red head said, poking his brother in the head.

"Christ, I could have walked to your house by now! Can you stop with the arguing and just get a move on?" Demyx asked, growing impatient.

"Oh fine. You're such a party pooper little Dem-Dem." Reno said, reaching back and ruffling Demyx's hair. The blond whinnied and pushed his hand away, but he couldn't help smiling at Reno's behavior.

"Oh, hey kid, what's your name?" Reno asked, glancing at Roxas in the mirror as he started to drive toward the exit. Roxas looked up at the older red head then smirked slightly.

"I can't tell you that." Roxas said.

"Damn, I thought I might get you. Anyways, as you might already know, I'm Reno and this is my friend Zack." Reno said, smiling. Zack looked into the back seat and smiled.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you!" Zack said happily. Roxas nodded and smiled back slightly.

"You too." He said.

* * *

><p>Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in the car with his brother, they got to Axel's house and he immediately lead the blonds to his room.<p>

"Where's your mom dude?" Demyx asked as he plopped himself down on the couch in Axel's room.

"She's on a business trip, that's why you guys we're able to come over here instead of us having to go to your house Dem." Axel said as he dug through his video games.

"Why can't you hang out here when your mom is home?" Blondie asked, looking at Axel in confusion as he took the seat beside Demyx.

"She says Dem and I are too noisy and how it's hard enough dealing with Reno and I and that kind of shit. She just doesn't really like having company though." Axel said, popping open a game case and looking inside to make sure the game was in there.

"Hey twerps, what do you want for dinner?" Reno asked, opening the door and leaning against the frame. Axel looked over to his two companions then back to the game in his hands.

"Whatever you guys want is fine." Axel said, turning on his PS3 and sliding the disc into the slot. Demyx smiled and shook his head.

"Pizza's fine Reno." Demyx said, smiling kindly at the older boy. Reno nodded then left the room, dialing the phone number for the pizza parlor as he went. Axel walked over to the couch and plopped down next to Blondie, tossing a remote in his lap.

"I'm assuming you play video games, right Blondie?" Axel asked as the menu for the game came up and he clicked the online game.

"Mostly handheld games. I used to play games with my ex though." The blond said. Axel nodded then quickly explained the controls before the match started.

* * *

><p>"Oh children! Pizza's here!" Reno called from down stairs as he slammed the door. Demyx was the first off the couch, practically running down the stairs. Axel and Blondie chuckled at the boy's behavior then quickly followed behind him.<p>

"I'm going to assume you were hungry Demyx." Reno said with a chuckle as he opened the pizza boxes. Demyx smiled and nodded.

"I forgot my lunch today. And I don't gots money." Demyx said, grabbing a piece of cheese pizza and put it in his mouth, holding it there with his teeth as he grabbed a piece of Hawaiian pizza and placed it on a napkin.

"Hey bro, I got your favorite." Reno said when he noticed the other boys presence and ruffled the red head's hair. Axel cringed then quickly fixed his hair when the offending hand retreated.

"Wait, Hawaiian is your favorite right? It's not mom's is it?" Reno asked, hoping he'd gotten it right. Axel blinked a couple times in surprise then slowly nodded.

"Yeah, you got it right." Axel said.

"Oh, thank God." Reno said smiling. Axel rolled his eyes, but smiled in return as he moved to get his pizza.

"Hey, where'd Zack go?" Demyx asked, looking around the kitchen for the raven.

"His girlfriend called. He's on the back porch talking to her." Reno said, nodding toward the living room. Demyx's mouth became an 'o' and he nodded slowly in understanding.

"Quick baby bro go lock the door on him." Reno said, nudging Axel in the side with his elbow and winking.

"No, go lock it yourself." Axel said, shooing him away and taking a bite of his pizza, relishing in the taste of the sweet pineapple mixing with the savory taste of the ham and tomato sauce.

"Aw why?" Reno asked, a slight pout coming to his face.

"You'll just tell on me." Axel said.

"If I lock it I'll still blame you." Reno said grinning.

"I'm not locking the door." Axel said simply.

"Party pooper." Reno said, pouting playfully and lightly pushing his head as he walked by to go to the living room.

"So what are you kids doing tonight?" Reno asked, following the younger boys into the living room. Axel shrugged as he kicked his feet up on the coffee table and flicked through the channels.

"I don't know. Why?" Axel said, looking over to his brother with a raised brow.

"Zack and I were gonna watch some scary movies, wondering if you were interested in joining us." Reno said. The brothers looked over to the two blonds to see their opinion on the matter.

"Um... Sounds like fun." Blondie said awkwardly, and Demyx quickly nodded in agreement.

"You better have not eaten all the pizza Reno!" Zack said as he walked through the back door.

"Oliver wanted to lock you outside!" Reno said, eyes widening and a smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah right Reno." Zack said, pushing Reno's head as Reno had done to Axel. Axel laughed.

"What the fuck? Why do you think I'm lying?" Reno asked.

"Well, for one, because it's you. Two, he would've locked you or Demyx out, not me." Zack said from the kitchen. Demyx looked over to Axel with a raised brow.

"You'd lock me out of your house?" Demyx asked, making the blond beside him laugh at the fact that Demyx was really that concerned about Axel locking him out of the house.

"No Dem. Why the fuck do you listen to them?" Axel said, shaking his head slightly.

Though when Demyx looked away satisfied, Axel nodded to Blondie and mouthed "I would", making him struggle not to laugh as he continued to eat his pizza.

* * *

><p>"Alright kiddies, try not to piss yourselves." Reno said with a smirk. The five teens were gathered in Reno's room with the only light coming from the soft glow of the tv and the street lights shining through the crack of the curtain. Zack was lying on Reno's bed, paying more attention to his phone than anything else. Then Reno sat on his bed down on the end with Zack's feet behind him and his back against the wall. Then Roxas, Demyx, and Red were seated on the floor next to the bed.<p>

"Whatever." Red said, rolling his eyes. Reno shook his head with a smile then pressed the play button.

"Pst. Zack." Reno whispered, tapping his friend on the leg.

"What?" Zack asked, barely glancing at Reno as he tapped away on his phone.

"You wanna help me scare the pants off the kids later?" He asked quietly, glancing over to the trio on his floor to make sure they hadn't heard him.

"Why?" Zack asked.

"Because it's funny." Reno said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Zack chuckled and shook his head.

"Sure. What have you got in mind?" Zack said. Reno grinned mischievously and looked back at the trio. All of them had their eyes glued to the TV. Reno scooted a bit closer to Zack to be heard better and he whispered his plan to the other boy, glancing to the boys every now and again as he did.


	4. Chapter 4

Axel Demyx and Blondie were all sitting in Axel's room. The door was closed and the lights were off, making the only light in the room the soft glow of the TV. The game they had been playing was currently informing them that it was game over, though they were completely oblivious since they had fallen asleep on the couch, remotes either in hand or fallen on the floor. However, the trio was soon startled awake by a scream. Axel shot up from his seat on the couch, knowing it was coming from Reno's room, and dashed out the door. Demyx and Blondie soon followed, it taking them a moment longer to process everything.

When Axel burst into his brothers room the lamp on his desk was on and Reno was on his bed screaming, his eyes screwed shut as he tossed his head about. He was gripping the sheets of his bed so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his back was arched up slightly. Zack was standing a couple feet away from the bed, staring at the red head in worry.

"What the fuck happened?!" Axel asked as he ran in, standing next to Zack. The older boy shook his head.

"I don't know, we were just sitting here watching TV and he started screaming!" Zack said. Axel looked at his brother worriedly, then stepped over to the bed.

"Reno!" Axel yelled at the older red head, slowly kneeling on the bed and reaching out a hand. As soon as Axel touched his brother his eyes snapped open and he released the bed, quickly grabbing Axel and pulling him onto the bed next to him. He held him there in a choke hold, but it was loose enough so Axel could breathe. Axel struggled in the older boys tight grip, trying to get free.

"He~y little brother." Reno said with a cheeky grin.

"You fucking asshole." Axel growled out. He elbowed Reno in the side and when his grip loosened he squirmed out of the older boys grasp. Reno chuckled and turned over in his bed as Axel quickly clambered out of it. Zack was leaning against Reno's desk with a hand over his mouth, hiding his smile, as he tried not to laugh. Demyx and Blondie stood in the doorway, looking surprised and confused about what had just happened.

"Aw, come on baby bro, we're just messing around." Reno said, still smiling as he sat up in his bed and reached for his brothers wrist. Axel quickly moved his hand away, crossing his arms over his chest and turning to look at his brother. His brows were furrowed and there was a firm down turn of his lips, his acid eyes were now an emerald green as they burned with anger. They narrowed at the older red head and suddenly, Reno felt a bit like a child again, being scolded by his mother for doing something bad.

"You scared the fucking shit out of me Reno." Axel said, his voice scarily level and calm.

"I've done worse." Reno said, furrowing his brows slightly at the boy. Axel sighed and rolled his eyes at Reno.

"Whatever, just leave me the fuck alone." Axel said, turning on his heel and walking quickly out of the room, brushing past the two blonds in the doorway.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Reno walked into the kitchen, rubbing his tired eyes. He'd gotten maybe an hour of sleep the night before, he'd stayed up most of the night thinking about his brother. He couldn't figure out why the boy was so upset. He'd honest to God done much worse to him. Yet, none of that bothered him as much as this incident, and all he could figure was that it was how upset Axel had been that was making him feel so guilty.<p>

When he finally looked up he found Axel standing by the coffee maker, pouring coffee into a mug.

"Mornin'." Reno mumbled as he slowly walked over to the boy. Axel glanced over at him and nodded, placing the pot back in the machine and moving to the fridge to get the milk.

"Where's your friends?" Reno asked, noticing the two blonds were no where to be seen.

"Still sleeping." Axel said quietly. He closed the fridge and moved back, next to Reno.

"... You still mad?" Reno asked after a moment of silence. Axel looked at him with a slightly raised brow, and right then Reno saw the dark circles and bags under his baby brothers eyes, making him cringe slightly. He knew it was his fault too. Axel turned back to his coffee and Reno sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry Ax. I wouldn't have done it if I'd known it would upset you this much." Reno said, ruffling his brother's hair slightly. Axel shooed the hand away and ran a hand through his hair to fix it.

"It's fine." Axel said, offering a small smile as if to prove everything really was okay. After years of living with the kid though, Reno knew it wasn't.

"It's nice to know you still care this much." Reno said, pulling his brother into a side hug, rubbing the younger red heads arm slightly.

"Shut up." Axel said, smiling slightly as he subconsciously nudged his brother in the side in a poor attempt to get him to release him.

"See? You do that kind of stuff and I can't tell if you even like me anymore, let alone care about me." Reno said. Axel looked at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything." Axel said, his brows furrowing slightly in irritation. Reno sighed and released his brother.

"You just pushed me away with your elbow while I was trying to hug you." Reno said, placing his hands on his hips. Axel's eyes widened slightly and he blinked a couple of times in confusion and surprise. Had he really? It didn't even regester in his mind as pushing him away. Now that he thought about it though... He wasn't playfully nudging him either. Reno sighed and ran a hand through his hair, moving to leave the kitchen, but stopping in the door way.

"You know, you used to sleep in my room at least twice a week. Now I'm lucky if you come in twice a year. I know I bug you Ax, but even with that we still hung out. And don't tell me it's because you've grown up or something like that, we both know that's not what it really is..." Reno said, trailing off. Axel was now looking at him with wide eyes, full of surprise. Axel couldn't believe his brother was even telling him all this.

When was the last time Reno had even opened up to him like this?

"You know, it's still okay to hang out with your brother. It's not like you're hanging out with mom." Reno said, smiling over at the younger red head. Then, with that said, he left, leaving Axel standing there in shock.

He didn't really ignore Reno that much did he? Sure, he tended to stay away from him so he wouldn't have to put up with his teasing, or so he thought, but they still hung out right...? Though, before yesterday, when was the last time he'd even ask his brother for a favor, or when he'd last set foot in his room for that matter? Had they really grown that far apart?

"Does it really upset him that much though?" Axel muttered to himself.

"Are you in here talking to yourself?" A familiar voice asked. Axel's gaze snapped up and he found Blondie standing in the door way, looking at him like he'd gone crazy.

"Yes, yes I am." Axel said. Blondie laughed and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Okay then. Anyways, why are you up so early on a Saturday?" Blondie asked with a yawn.

"I could ask you the same question." Axel said, sitting in the seat next to the blond's. Blondie just stared at Axel, trying to tell Axel with his eyes to answer the question.

"I couldn't get back to sleep. What about you?" Axel said.

"I got up to use the bathroom. Then I kinda ran into a wall..." He said, looking at the table with a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. Axel stared at him for a moment then suddenly started laughing.

"Are you serious?" He asked, chuckling. The blond slowly nodded and Axel laughed more.

"Damn, are you okay?" He said, his laughter subsiding, but the grin still ever present on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, stretching his arms out in front of him then resting his chin on the table. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of them quite sure what to say at this point. Axel was staring at the doorway to the living room, his thoughts turning back to Reno as he tried to think of what to do. Blondie, however, just stared out the window trying to figure out what to do about this silence. It wasn't that it was uncomfortable, it was more like the silence just seemed unusual when around someone like Axel.

"What you thinking about?" Blondie asked, noticing the intent look upon the red head's face. Axel blinked as he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the blond.

"Um... It's nothing." Axel said. The blond stared at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You're a liar." He said, turning his gaze back to the window and folding his arms on the table so he could rest his head on them. Axel shrugged and sat back in the chair, tilting it back slightly so only two of the legs sat on the floor.

"I came to accept that a long time ago." Axel said with a slight smirk. Blondie chuckled and shook his head.

"Can I ask you something?" Axel asked suddenly.

"You just did." Blondie said with a playful smirk.

"Oh hahaha you're so clever. Smart ass." Axel said sarcastically. The blond chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, go ahead." He said.

"Why did you move to Destiny Islands?"

* * *

><p>Roxas blinked a couple of times in surprise then sat up in his chair. He knew that question would come up at some point, but he wasn't really expecting it right now. To be honest though he'd expected the red head to ask a lot sooner than that. Though, he hadn't really decided whether or not he wanted to tell him the full truth or just be vague about it. It's not like it really mattered to him though right? The reason for the move would bug his father, but the move had been a blessing in disguise for him. Not that he would tell the red head about that part though.<p>

"Financial problems. My mom lost her job and my dad's job couldn't pay all the bills, so Sora's parents convinced my dad to move here, they even helped my parents find jobs." Roxas said, watching the boy's expression. Red nodded slowly in understanding.

"So, where'd you move from?" He asked, looking curiously at the blond.

"Twilight Town." Roxas said simply, turning his gaze to the table.

"Is there really as much crime as they say there is?" Red asked. Roxas shrugged.

"Kind of. There's been some shootings, I've even seen one before, but other than that the worst was late night robberies." Roxas said. Red looked at him oddly.

"Um... That sounds pretty bad to me." He said. Roxas shrugged.

"It's just normal to me. I lived there since I was born, so I grew up knowing that. It's kind of weird though, moving here, everything is so calm and quiet, it's like there's no life here." Roxas said, his eyebrows scrunching slightly as he thought about the differences between the two towns.

"Yeah, crime rates are pretty low here, the most that happens here is whatever trouble us teenagers go around causing. Destiny Islands is pretty family friendly though." He said, putting his hands behind his head. Roxas nodded, sighing through his nose and running a hand through his hair.

"So, why won't you tell me your name? I mean, it's obviously not cause you don't want to be friends, you wouldn't be here if you didn't want to be friends. And it's not cause you want to get to know me first because you wouldn't have told Demyx your name if that were the case. Plus, knowing a persons name is the beginning of getting to know a person. So what is it?" Red asked.

"Demyx hasn't told you yet?" Roxas asked, looking at the red head with a mix of surprise and confusion. The other boy slowly shook his head.

"No." He said.

"Well," Roxas started, pausing to look at the table and rub the back of his neck. "I told Demyx that I would tell you my name when I was ready for a relationship. Before I moved I broke up with my boyfriend, so... I just don't think it would be fair to anyone to get in a relationship. I feel like they'd just be a rebound and... You don't deserve that." Red nodded slightly then a small smirk came to his face.

"So when I win your heart over from that guy I get to know your name." He said. It was a statement rather than a question, but Roxas still chuckled and nodded.

"What if, and this is a huge if, what if I can't get you to fall for me. Do I still get to know your name?" He asked.

"I'll still tell you. But, I'll also tell you I just want to be friends" Roxas said, looking up at the red head. His grin could rival that of the Cheshire Cat as he stood from his seat. He bent down so his mouth was level with Roxas's ear.

"Then I'll definitely win." He said, swiftly placing a kiss on the blond's cheek. Roxas's eyes widened slightly and he quickly turned his head to watch the red head walk out of the kitchen, grin still firmly placed on his lips. Roxas sigh and smiled at the retreating boy.

"I'm sure you will." He muttered to himself.

* * *

><p>"Demyx!" Axel yelled, jumping on the blond that was sprawled out on his bed sleeping. It had been three hours since his talk with Blondie and even though the two had ended up back in his room playing games, Demyx had still managed to sleep the entire time.<p>

"No. I want to sleep!" Demyx whinnied, wiggling beneath the red head till he managed to hide his head under the blanket.

"Dem you've been asleep three hours longer than everyone else. Get your lazy ass up!" Axel said, bouncing slightly on top of the blond.

"But I'm tired." Demyx mumbled.

"We're all tired, and I'm sure we're much more tired than you." Axel said.

"Demyx! Get up!" Reno said, now standing in Axel's doorway.

"Fine." Demyx said, pushing the younger red head off of him and tossing the blanket off himself.

"What?! So you'll get up for my brother, but you won't get up for me?" Axel asked, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest.

"He's older and in charge." Demyx said simply as he shuffled out of Axel's room. Blondie laughed from his spot on the couch and Reno grinned.

"We should have Demyx over more." He said with a chuckle.

"You wouldn't be saying that if he hadn't listened to you." Axel said with a huff. Reno smiled and shrugged.

"Whatever. You guys hurry up and get dressed though. I'm taking Zack to the mall to see Aerith and you guys are coming with." Reno said, turning and walking back to his room before Axel could protest. Axel sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well Blondie, you heard him. Quick like a bunny! Get ready!" Axel said suddenly, the blond blinked a couple times then got up and grabbed his things, leaving the room just as Demyx got back.

"What's going on?" Demyx asked, looking at Axel with confusion etched into his features.

* * *

><p>"Okay kiddies, you've got your phones right?" Reno said as he pulled into the parking lot of the mall. Axel would never understand why, but his brother seemed to like parking really far away from the mall when ever they came. Even if there were empty parking spaces closer.<p>

"Yeah we got them, why would we leave home without them?" Axel said as if it we're the most ridiculous question in the world.

"Where's your phone Ax?" Reno asked.

"Reno!" Axel yelled.

"I already knew that much." Blondie said, staring out the window at the sky.

"What, since when?" Axel asked, looking at the blond in confusion.

"Since Demyx." He said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the other blond.

"Hey!" Reno said, snapping his fingers as he swiftly pulled into a parking space. "Phone, where is it?" He asked, turning in his seat to look back at the younger red head. Axel huffed and rolled his eyes, reaching into his pocket for his phone, but soon finding it empty. His eyes widened slightly and he started patting his pockets trying to find the device. Reno rolled his eyes and reached into his back pocket, producing the phone and holding it out for his brother to take.

"You left it on the coffee table." Reno said as Axel swiped it from his hand.

"You two have your phones?" Reno looked between the two blonds. Demyx nodded and held up his phone.

"Don't have one." Blondie said quietly. Four pairs of questioning eyes were suddenly on him.

"What? Why don't you have a phone? This is the twenty first century kid, everyone has a phone." Reno said. The blond sighed and shook his head.

"My family moved here because of money issues, we can't afford cell phones." He said, unbuckling his seat belt. The four boys blinked a couple of times in surprise.

"Are we gonna sit here all day?" He asked. Reno quickly blinked back into reality.

"Oh, yeah sorry." He said, quickly getting out of the car and pushing up the seat so the blond could get out, Axel following close behind.

"Now, don't lose your phone in the mall Big Red. Mom will be pissed if you do." Reno said.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Axel said, heading toward the mall with the two blonds following close behind. Reno chuckled and shook his head.

"Come on Zack, let's go find your girlfriend." Reno said, patting the boy on the back and walking a couple feet behind the three boys.

* * *

><p>Roxas, Demyx and Red were in the game store. Demyx was off looking at the Xbox games while Roxas looked at the handheld games and Red stayed close by.<p>

"Oh give it up Blondie, there's no way you could beat me at Mortal Kombat! I am a king at that game!" Red said with a grin. Roxas laughed and shook his head.

"No way man, even though I've mostly played handheld games I am a pro at Mortal Kombat! If your a king I'm a legend!" Roxas said with a laugh.

"Hey kiddo, funny seein' you here!" A gruff voice said from behind as an arm was slung around the blonds shoulders. The smile on Roxas's face immediately fell and his eyes widened slightly as his whole body tensed at the other males touch.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Roxas asked, biting his lip and looking down slightly.

"Just shopping." Xigbar said with a grin. "What about you kiddo?"

"How about, none of your fucking business." Roxas said, glaring at the boy from the corner of his eye.

"Ooh fiesty. I always did like that about you kiddo." Xigbar said, ruffling the blond's hair. Roxas scoffed and slapped Xigbar's hand away.

"Fuck off and go home Xigbar." Roxas said.

"Oh don't be like that R- omf!" Roxas cut him off by jabbing his elbow as hard as he could into Xigbar's stomach.

"You must be the ex. Damn skippy right?" Red said, looking at Roxas with a small smile and a spark in his eyes.

"Yeah he is." Roxas said, moving away from Xigbar and closer to the red head.

"Well, I don't know exactly what happened between you two, but I do know that Blondie here doesn't want anything to do with you now _Xigbar_. So you better leave him alone got it?" The red head said as a wolfish grin fell upon his features. Xigbar narrowed his eyes at the red head and a small smirk came to his lips.

"And who are you to stop me?" Xigbar asked. Red wrapped his arm around Roxas's shoulder and leaned forward slightly.

"I'm Axel. Get it memorized." He said, tapping his finger to his temple. Roxas's eyes widened and his gaze snapped over to the red head. Did he really just say his name? Roxas couldn't believe it, he was sure that Axel wouldn't tell him till Roxas told him his.

"Come on Dem, we're leaving!" Axel called over his shoulder to the blond as he turned Roxas toward the exit to leave. Demyx's head snapped up and he looked at the red head in confusion, but he quickly put down the game he was looking at and followed Axel out of the store, glancing at Xigbar curiously as he passed the man, wondering what had happened.

* * *

><p><strong>I just have to say, I've never even played Mortal Kombat, it just was the first game to pop into my head XD<strong>

**Thank the Lord all mighty, I don't have to call Axel 'Red' anymore! You don't know how much that one was getting to me. I mean, I'm fine with calling Roxas 'Blondie' for the time being, but when I called Axel 'Red' it didn't feel right at all. And Xigbar makes his second appearance! HAHA! So, can you please let me know what you think of this chapter, cause I feel like on those last three time jumps that my writing was kind of shoddy, and second to last time jump where they're in the car just feels unnecessary to me and more like a little amusement for myself because several people in my family will leave their phones lying around the house and it's like "SERIOUSLY! YOU HAVE AN IPHONE WHY ARE YOU LEAVING IT LYING AROUND?!" anywho, ranting over. So do let me know what you think, because I really care about your opinions, and I want to make this story good for you. This chapter is also dedicated to the awesome ALostNobody because she is just so awesome, thank you so much for all your lovely reviews and support hun, your just wonderful! That is all for now guys, I love you all and I will see you later for the next update! Laters ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, Blondie. It's not very nice to stare." Axel said with a playful smirk. Roxas's cheeks flared a nice shade of red and he quickly turned his gaze away from the red head. Axel chuckled and ruffled the blond's hair.

"It's okay Blondie. I know it's hard to not stare at my sexy face." He said with a cheeky grin. Roxas snorted.

"Yeah, right." Roxas said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"You know you like me, I've got that irrisistable charm." Axel said, an underlying purr in his voice.

"I don't know, I think I might like your brother." Roxas said teasingly. Axel's face immediately dropped an he frowned at the blond.

"Watch it Blondie." Axel said, a slight pout on his face.

"Oh I've been watching it for almost a whole day now and I'm really liking it." Roxas said seductively, biting his lip in a sexy manner and making a small sound of approval. Demyx stood behind the pair trying not to laugh too loudly at the banter between them.

"Hey look, there's Reno!" Demyx said quickly, hoping Axel didn't hear the laughter in his voice.

"Oh yeah, how about we go say hello!" Roxas said, grinning mischievously at Axel then running off toward the older red head. Axel turned, glaring at Demyx and slapping him on the arm. Demyx laughed and held up his hands in surrender.

"I'm sorry man, it was there!" Demyx said. Axel looked back towards Roxas and Reno, a frown on his face and eyebrows pinched together. Roxas looked over his shoulder at the red head and waved slightly with a smile on his face.

"You better get over there and save your soon to be boyfriend." Axel sighed and quickly followed the blond.

"Hey Chocobo, what's up?" Reno said with a smile as Roxas ran up to him.

"Just fucking with Axel. You?" Roxas said, breathing slightly heavily from running over to the older red head.

"Trying to find Zack, he ran off with Aerith while I was buying a shirt. Did you two finally tell each other your names?" Reno said, biting the inside of his cheek as he continued to walk around looking for the raven and his girlfriend.

"Uh... Not exactly." Roxas said. Reno looked curiously at the blond.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well," Roxas started, looking over his shoulder at Axel. He smiled at him and waved slightly then turned his gaze before him again.

"Axel told someone else his name and I was standing right there." Roxas said. Reno chuckled and shoved his hands in his pocket.

"Did he know you were there or was he oblivious?" Reno asked with a grin.

"Well, his arm was around me, so I think he knew I was there." Roxas said with a smile. Reno shook his head and sighed.

"That kid. Never know what he's gonna do next ya know?" Reno said. Roxas chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, I know... Hey, before Axel catches up to us, do you think I could ask you something?" Roxas said. Reno looked over his shoulder at Axel.

"Make it quick." He said.

"You and Axel are so much alike, so why don't you two get along? Well, actually no. Why doesn't Axel get along with you?" Roxas said, glancing back at Axel for a moment then looking expectantly back at Reno. Reno sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I really wish I knew kiddo. Axel and I used to get along then slowly two years ago he started pushing me away and getting snappy with me. He didn't seem to even want to live under the same roof as me. I've tried to get him to talk to me, find out what happened, but he just blows me off or if he's in a mood he'll get mad. Hey baby brother." Reno said, smiling widely at Axel as he finally caught up to them.

"Hey." Axel said breathlessly and he started taking deep breaths.

"We were just talking about you. Blondie here tells me you finally told him your name." Reno said. Roxas chuckled as Axel's eyebrows pinched together.

"Sorta. Why do you care?" Axel said, looking suspiciously at Reno. Reno was slightly taken aback by Axel's tone and frowned slightly at the younger red head.

"I don't really... I was just telling you what we were talking about before you got your panties in a wad about it." Reno said, shoving his hands back in his pockets and looking away from Axel with a frown on his face. Roxas looked at Reno for a moment then turned to Axel with a stern, questioning expression.

"Why do you hate your brother?" Roxas asked. Axel's eyes widened and he stopped dead in his tracks. Demyx, who had just caught up with them, stared at Axel for a moment then slowly moved over next to Reno. Reno's head turned quickly and he stared at Roxas in surprise. Roxas crossed his arms over his chest and looked expectantly at Axel. Axel blinked a couple times then frowned at Roxas.

"I don't hate my brother Blondie." Axel said, starting to walk away. Roxas was about to respond when Reno placed his hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"It's okay kiddo. He's had a long day. Thanks anyways though." He said, smiling down at Roxas. Roxas sighed but nodded and followed after Axel. Demyx and Reno stayed a couple feet behind them. The pair was silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry if I upset you." Roxas said quietly. Axel looked over at him for a moment then smiled.

"Nah, I'm just tired. Don't worry about it." He said.

"When did you wake up?" Roxas asked, looking curiously at the red head. Axel shrugged.

"The better question is when did I fall asleep?" Axel said with a smirk. Roxas's eyes widened and he looked worriedly at Axel.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah. I woke up when Reno started screaming. I couldn't get back to sleep after that. So I'm kind of irritable right now." Axel said. A yawn soon came to follow as if to prove how tired Axel was. Though now that Roxas thought about it, Axel had been yawning a lot.

"Axel I-"

"Hey kiddo! Bumpin into each other twice in one day? It must be fate." Xigbar said, cutting off Roxas. Roxas scowled at the other boy.

"Xigbar I already told you to leave me the fuck alone and go home." Roxas growled, brushing past Xigbar. The other was quick to stop him though, grabbing his wrist and holding tightly.

"You know your not being very fair kiddo. You won't even let me explain what happened." Xigbar said.

"Hey! Let go of him!" Reno said as he walked up to the trio, Demyx by his side looking curiously between the three boys. Xigbar stared at Reno for a moment then released Roxas. Axel immediately pulled Roxas back and stood slightly in front of him.

"Now what the hell is going on here?" Reno asked.

"He's my ex. He won't leave me alone." Roxas said. Reno sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, I just want to explain what happened." Xigbar said.

"I don't think he cares. Now you better leave him alone. I'm sure Choco's got enough going on without you adding on to all the crap. Now go. Scamper little bunny scamper!" Reno said, waving his hand in a shooing motion away from them. Xigbar glared at Reno and crossed his arms over his chest.

"As if. I'm not going anywhere." Xigbar said. For a moment Roxas feared that he meant he wasn't going to leave Destiny Islands, but he couldn't possibly.

"I can make you go. I'm sure Axel would be glad to assist me with that." Reno said with a smirk. Xigbar glared at Reno for a moment longer then turned and started to walk away.

"I'll see ya later kiddo." He said, waving his hand over his shoulder.

"Thanks Reno. Axel." Roxas said.

"What, no reward for the hero?" Axel said teasingly.

"What are you talking about, you didn't do anything!" Demyx said, looking incredulously at Axel.

"No Dem, he's right." Roxas said, waving off Demyx. Axel grinned in triumph as Demyx looked at Roxas like he was crazy. Reno stood there watching in amusement.

"Come here Reno!" Roxas said with a cheeky grin, moving toward the older red head and beckoning him with his finger. Axel's eyes nearly bulged out of his head like a cartoons as he realized what the blond said.

"Oh no you don't Blondie!" Axel said, grabbing Roxas around the waist and pulling him back. Reno and Demyx began to laugh at the pairs banter.

"But this was your idea Axel!" Roxas said, grinning mischievously as he tried to get out of Axel's grasp.

"I was just kidding! Don't reward Reno!" Axel whinnied, pouting slightly at Roxas.

"You wouldn't be complaning if he was rewarding you." Demyx said with a playful smile.

"Not cool Dem." Axel said, looking at him in irritation.

"Okay okay, enough of this! We're in a public place and your acting like children." Reno said.

"But we are children." Roxas said with a cheeky grin.

"Aw but I wanted to be a big kid now!" Demyx said, pouting. Reno laughed and ruffled Demyx's hair.

"We'll buy you some pull ups later, now let's go. We need to find Zack." Reno said, grabbing the trio and pushing them forward.

* * *

><p>Axel sighed as he plopped down on the couch in his bed room, Roxas following suit as Demyx sat on his bed. Axel pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes as he let his head rest against the back of the couch.<p>

"You okay Ax?" Demyx asked, looking worriedly at his red haired friend.

"Yeah Dem I'm fine." Axel said. The two blonds looked knowingly at each other then shook their heads.

"Is it cool if I shower Ax?" Demyx asked, winking at Roxas who blushed and threw a near by shirt at him. Demyx held his hand over his mouth as he silently laughed at the blond.

"You know I don't care Demyx, you can do what you want so long as you don't get me in trouble." Axel said, waving his hand in dismissal. Demyx chuckled and shook his head.

"Ok, I tell Reno you broke a lamp on my way to the bathroom." He said with a wink.

"I'm not a klutz like you Dem." Axel said, peeking open an eye and smirking at his friend.

"Oh har har ha- ow." Demyx said, getting cut off as he ran into the door way. Roxas quickly placed a hand over his mouth and bit his lip, trying not to laugh. Axel however flat out laughed at the blond.

"Are you okay Demyx?" Roxas asked, his voice strained from trying not to laugh.

"I'm fine. It happens a bit more often than you'd think." Demyx said, blinking a couple times then exiting the room, patting the door frame on the way out. Roxas broke out in laughter and bent forward in his seat.

"He's not lying, that does happen quite often. Keep hanging out with us and you'll see." Axel said chuckling.

"You know, that doesn't surprise me." Roxas said with a grin. Axel nodded and ran a hand down his face.

"You know, if your tired you can go to sleep. I'm sure Dem and I can survive on our own for the rest of the night." Roxas said.

"And leave you to my brother?" Axel said with a teasing smile.

"Oh I was just teasing you. I don't like your brother like that." Roxas said, pushing Axel's shoulder lightly.

"I kind of figured you didn't." Axel said, yawning as he did. Roxas smiled slightly and the two sat in a comfortable silence for a moment as Axel grabbed his tv remote and turned it on, flicking through the channels to find something to watch.

"Axel?" Roxas said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" Axel asked, looking at Roxas.

"Don't get mad." Roxas said cautiously.

"Oh God." Axel said, dropping his head into his hands and shaking it slightly.

"Stop that." Roxas said, slapping his arm. "I just... Reno told me about how you and him used to get along. I just wanted to know what happened. Cause honestly, I doubt Reno's changed at all in the past two years." Axel sighed and sat back up, biting his lip as he did. When he didn't say anything Roxas took a deep breath and spoke again.

"I hate my father. I hate him so much that I wish he'd die." His voice was quiet, but loud enough for Axel to hear. Axel looked over to him with wide eyes. He blinked a couple times and nodded slightly as he directed his gaze toward his hands.

"You gotta promise not to tell Reno okay? I'm serious about this." Axel said.

"I promise." Roxas said, nodding slightly as he spoke. Axel looked over to his door then looked at his hands and sighed.

"It was a little bit of Demyx, a little bit of my mom, a lot of Larxene and Marluxia, but mostly all the emotions from the anniversary of my dad's death. See, Dem and I had just met around that time and Dem had said it was kind of odd how much time I spent with Reno. I know Dem didn't mean anything by it, and I don't blame him for anything, he was just a bit of influence. See, he's an only child and as a kid he only had one friend named something like Sex-on, and the kid was an outcast. Demyx being the super nice kid he is of course befriended him though he was too oblivious to realize none of the other kids liked him for protecting the kid. Even now though, Dem has no clue about how what he said affected me. Larxene had been near us at the time and overheard Demyx. Then Marluxia saw me in the halls after that with Reno because our mom was picking us up. The next day was the anniversary of my dad's death. No one, not even Demyx, knew about it. So of course, that day in the halls Larxene and Marluxia had come to me and started making comments about how much I hung out with Reno. Dem was there, but he knew by then that when it came to Marluxia and Larxene he should just keep his mouth shut and try to ignore them. I couldn't ignore them though, so I got pissed and punched Marluxia in the face. We ended up in a fist fight, the principal had to come and break us up. He called my mom, but she was smashed by then. She always drinks herself into a coma on that day. So he had to send for Reno. When he got there him and the principal tried to get me to tell them what happened but I wouldn't. Then Marluxia, of course, lied his face off about the incident and Larxene agreed one hundred percent. I made Demyx swear he wouldn't tell though. I think Reno was the only one smart enough to know that I wouldn't hit someone without being provoked. I ended up getting suspended for the rest of the week. On the walk home Reno tried to get me to tell him what really happened but I just told him to leave me alone and walked ahead of him. Ever since then I pushed Reno away, just telling myself he was a jerk. So it's nothing to do with Reno. Hell, every time he's nice to me I could die. I hate myself more and more each time, but what makes me hate myself the most is that I actually let that bitch and her faggot ass boyfriend get to me this much. I hate that I actually let her get in my head and ruin my relationship with my brother. And now I... I can't ever fix that." Axel said. Roxas watched his face carefully the whole time he spoke, seeing searing anger through most of the story, a hint of grief when he spoke of his father and a mix of regret hate and bitter sadness by the end. Axel sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head against the back of the couch again.

"I'm the shittiest excuse for a brother aren't I?" Axel asked after a moment of silence. Roxas's eyes widened slightly in surprise and he frowned.

"No Axel. You're a good brother, last night proves it." Roxas said. Axel looked at Roxas with confusion in his eyes.

"What does last night have to do with it?" He asked.

"Axel, you shot out of this room last night faster than Demyx and I could even stand up, let alone process what was going on. Then afterwards you didn't go back to sleep, and I'm willing to bet that's because you were so upset and couldn't believe he'd actually done that to you." Roxas said. Axel stared at him for a moment then closed his eyes again. He knew Roxas was right, but what he said just made him think of what Reno had said that morning to him and he really didn't want to think about that right now.

"Whatever. It's not like it matters at this point. I've been such a douche the past two years, theres no repairing that." Axel said quietly.

"Are you certain of that, or are you just telling yourself that because it would be easier to keep up the charade rather than explain things to your brother." Roxas said, watching Axel's face closely. His eyes opened slightly and he looked at the ceiling, but he said nothing. Roxas sighed and got off the couch, patting Axel on the leg.

"You think it over, I'm gonna go get something to drink." Roxas said and left, closing the door behind him and leaving Axel by himself. Roxas turned and found Demyx sitting next to the door with his knees pulled up to his chest, staring at the wall in front of him with tears in his eyes.

"Dem, are you okay? What's wrong?" Roxas said, quickly getting on his knees beside the door.

"I didn't know it was my fault that Axel pushed himself away from his brother." He said quietly. Roxas's eyes widened for a moment then his eyebrows furrowed and his expression became stern.

"Demyx don't you dare, I've been through this before and it doesn't end well. Now Axel said he didn't blame you and he knows you didn't mean it in a bad way. This has nothing to do with you Demyx, this is all Larxene's fault." Roxas said, holding Demyx's shoulders and looking him in the eyes.

"Really?" Demyx asked. Roxas simply nodded. Demyx bit his lip and looked down slightly.

"Okay. Thanks Roxas." Demyx said, smiling at him.

"Any time Dem." Roxas said quietly.

* * *

><p>Reno walked into Axel's room, going to wake him up, but stopped dead in his tracks at the scene before him. Axel was on his bed asleep with Roxas laying on his chest and Demyx on his legs with Roxas's legs on Dem's stomach. Reno bit back a laugh and pulled out his phone, taking a couple pictures before waking them up.<p>

"Axel wake up." Reno said, shaking the boy's shoulder. Axel shook his head and slowly turned, wrapping his arm around Roxas and shoving his face into his arm. Reno bit his lip and smiled slightly in amusement.

"Axel mom's coming home early, you need to get up now so we can take your friends home." He said with laughter in his voice.

"I don't care, go away." Axel whinnied, shooing Reno away with his hand.

"Chocobo, wake up and tell your boyfriend to get his ass out of bed." Reno said.

"He is not my boyfriend." Roxas said.

"Really? Coulda fooled me with your current positions." Reno said cheekily with a large grin plastered on his face. Roxas pulled back slightly and looked at his and Axel's position as Axel's hand moved up to Roxas's shoulder and tried to pull him back. Roxas grabbed the hand and put it back on his waist then laid back down with Axel.

"You can think what you like, I'm comfortable." Roxas said. Axel tossed a sleepy grin over his shoulder at Reno then snuggled back up with Roxas. Reno bit his lip in thought.

"Ya know Choco," Reno started, leaning over the bed. Roxas peeked out from Axel's chest to show that he was listening.

"You never did give me that 'reward' for helping you with Xigbar yesterday. How about you give it to me now?" Reno purred, slipping his hand under Roxas's chin and turning his head.

"Alright your dead." Axel said, rolling over. Reno quickly moved back as Axel sat up.

"Oh good your up! Demyx it's time to get up!" Reno said happily. Demyx gave him a thumbs up and Reno quickly left as Axel threw a shoe in his direction. Reno knew he purposefully missed though seeing as Axel had always had extremely accurate aim.

* * *

><p>It was late that afternoon when Axel finally ventured to his brother's room. Their mother had been home for a couple hours and at the moment was in her bathroom taking a bath, claiming to have a head ache and telling them to not bother her unless it was an emergency. Reno's door was closed and he could hear music playing loudly inside and for a moment he couldn't help but think that he should come back later. Though with that thought in mind all he could hear running through his head was Blondie's voice telling him to think about it. Axel took a deep breath and slowly grabbed the door knob. He opened the door slowly and knocked on the door as he poked his head in. He could feel his heart hammering against his chest and it seemed as though the beat of his heart was louder than the music. Reno looked up curiously at Axel from his desk chair then grabbed his remote and turned off the music.<p>

"Can I come in?" Axel asked quietly. Reno stared at him for a moment then nodded.

"Of course." He said. Axel slipped in quickly and shut the door behind him. He then slowly walked over to Reno's bed and sat down.

"What's up?" Reno asked when Axel said nothing. The younger red head was silent for a moment longer before he spoke.

"Um... I've been thinking and talking to Blondie and I figured I should tell you um..." Axel said, pausing to take a deep breath before he started to tell Reno everything. He told him what Demyx had said, how the next day Marluxia and Larxene had come and started making fun of him for hanging out with Reno, why he had sworn Demyx to secrecy and why he wouldn't tell what had happened. He even told him why he had pushed him away and how terrible he felt for doing it. Through the entire thing Reno had sat silent, nodding slightly once in a while and looking at Axel as he spoke. When he finished telling Reno everything he dropped his head in his hands, feeling tears sting his eyes. Reno stood from his seat and moved to sit beside Axel. He wrapped an arm around the younger red head and rubbed his bicep.

"It's okay Ax." He said soothingly. Axel shook his head and pushed his palms a bit more into his eyes.

"No it's not. I wasted two years, two fucking long ass years, ignoring you and being a douche to you and I've only got one year left with you." Axel said, his voice strained.

"Axel I'll only be an hour and a half away. I'll be here every weekend. And for now we'll make the most of the time we have together." Reno said with a smile.

"I'm a fucking jackass. I was constantly telling Demyx not to let her get into his head and I fucking let the bitch get to mine." Axel said, keeping his head down and he slid his hands into his hair and gripped it tightly.

"Axel, it was the anniversary of dad's death, you were as vulnerable and emotional as mom and I. She could have told you your hair looked stupid and the next day you would've changed it. I know your upset about all this, I understand that your pissed off because you lost so much time, but that's in the past now Ax. We are talking about now and you decided to make things right Axel. You told me what happened and you want to fix it and that's what matters right now. Okay? I'm not mad at you, I never was. I've just been worried, and trying to figure out what had happened to my baby bro." Reno said.

"I'm so sorry Reno." Axel said quietly, slipping his hands out of his hair and straighten up a bit so he could look at Reno. His expression was regretful and his eyes darkened with sadness.

"It's okay bro. Just don't do anything stupid like that again okay?" Reno said, ruffling Axel's hair and grinning happily. Axel chuckled and swatted the offensive hand away.

"I won't. I promise." Axel said, smiling at Reno.

"Good. Now give me a fucking hug you douche." Reno said with a large grin, pushing Axel's head lightly. Axel chuckled and nodded, wrapping an arm around his brother and squeezing him tightly. Reno smiled, patting his arm then moving his hand up and ruffling his hair.

"Alright punk, get off of me." He said pushing the younger's head again. Axel laughed and pushed Reno.

"You're an asshole." He said with a smile.

"And damn proud." Reno said with a grin.

* * *

><p>Roxas sat on his bed, curled up by his window with his head against his knees. Hot tears stung at his eyes as the pain in his cheek flared with heat. He could tell his cheek was starting to swell and he knew it was probably going to bruise. His father's hits always did bruise, but it was rare that his father would hit him in the face. All he could hope for right now was that the swelling would go down by the morning and then cover any bruising with make up. He didn't know what he'd do if it didn't. He couldn't take a day off school, but he couldn't let anyone see this, especially Axel and Demyx. Normally he was safe because of the way he dressed, never wearing anything too revealing. He looked over to his side where his knife lay. He knew he shouldn't, he knew what a terrible idea it was, but he couldn't help but let his thoughts get to him on the matter.<p>

He used to have Xigbar to help him cope with this stuff, and after that, he couldn't remember how he used to cope with his addictions or his father's abuse. Though, Xigbar hadn't really known about his father's abuse, Roxas had feared that Xigbar might kill him, and he really didn't want Xigbar to get arrested for murder.

With a sigh Roxas grabbed the knife and climbed off his bed, heading into his bathroom. He stood over the sink and turned on the hot water. He flipped open his knife, staring at the blade for a moment before rolling up his sleeve, revealing a large amount of scars, a few of them still purplish and healing though most of them white with age. He pressed the knife just under his sleeve and slowly drew the blade across his pale skin in a long thin line. He watched the blood slowly ooze out of the fresh wound, mezmerized by the deep red color that reminded him of a certain red head that he'd spent the weekend with. With the thought of Axel in mind Roxas started to calm and he placed his knife on the sink. He placed his arm under the hot water and allowed the warm liquid to wash away the blood, turning the once clear water red for the briefest of moments.

When he figured it was sufficiently cleaned he turned off the water and dabbed the skin dry with a towel. He sighed, placing down the towel and looking at himself in the mirror. He was right, his cheek was swollen and turning a sickly yellow green color. He frowned at his reflection and ran his hands through his hair, tugging on the back of his blond locks. He didn't know what he was going to do if the swelling didn't go down, but he couldn't skip school. Or, he didn't want to...

* * *

><p><strong>And there's another chapter! Quite a long one too. Lots of shit went down in this one. I got all teary during several parts of writing this, felt like such a girl XD. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Much love to you all, and I will see you later ;)<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a month now since Roxas had moved to Destiny Islands, and so far nothing major had happened since that weekend at Axel's. School had been mostly alright, aside from the couple of times Larxene had approached him to be a bitch. He hadn't seen Xigbar again since that weekend, and he thanked The Lord for that. That next morning at school, the night after his father's beating, Demyx and Axel had flipped their lids about Roxas's swollen purpling cheek. When he'd told them he didn't want to talk about it though, they'd immediately assumed that it was either Marluxia or Xigbar. After that his father had beat him a few other times in the month, though he didn't hit him in the face those times, saving Roxas from his friends questioning. Axel had also started riding to and from school with his brother every day now, and the red head would tell Roxas and Demyx about his newly fixed relationship with his brother, smiling all the while. It made Roxas happy to know that Axel and his brother were now getting along again. Though, with a month gone by and not too many big things going on, Roxas couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen very soon. He of course didn't know what, but he had this gut feeling, and his head was screaming warnings at him because of it. So going into month two, Roxas was walking very cautiously through the days, waiting for something big to happen that he felt would most likely ruin his good mood and fun for a little while. Though little did Roxas know, that this wasn't just going to ruin his fun and good mood when surrounded by people he liked. It was going to ruin his life.

* * *

><p>Roxas was at his locker, gathering his books for his next class. Axel and Demyx were off doing the same, leaving Roxas on his own. Every time he closed his locker, he couldn't help but expect someone to always be standing there, though this time, the person he saw wasn't someone he had been expecting. A frown immediately pulled at his lips as he saw the long black hair, pulled back into a ponytail, the one golden eye, the other covered by an eye patch, and the cocky grin pulling up the corners of his mouth.<p>

"Hello Roxas~." Xigbar purred, his arms crossed over his chest. Roxas's eyes narrowed at the older boy.

"Goodbye Xigbar." He spat, turning on his heel and quickly walking away. He didn't get far though, as Xigbar was quick to wrap a hand around his wrist and pull him back.

"Don't be like that Roxy. I don't mean harm, I just wanna talk." Xigbar said with a slight purr.

"No thanks. I know what talks with you lead to and I don't like it." Roxas said, glaring at Xigbar.

"Oh? You liked it two months ago kid." He said with a wolffish grin.

"That was before I found out you were cheating on me." Roxas said, ripping his wrist out of Xigbar's grasp, turning and walking away again.

"Now go home Xigbar!" Roxas said over his shoulder.

"This is my home now kiddo!" Xigbar said. Roxas froze and slowly turned to look at the older boy.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked quietly. Xigbar grinned.

"I'm an orphan kid. I've lived on the streets for two years, you know that Roxas. And when you live like that, moving to a new town is easier than you think." Xigbar said, walking towards Roxas. He placed a hand on the blonds shoulder and smirked. Roxas tensed and looked at him with wide scared eyes.

"See ya around kiddo." He said, and with that, he walked away. Roxas stood there until the first bell rang, processing what just happened.

"Fuck!" Roxas yelled, kicking the locker closest to him. A passing student jumped and looked at him with a 'what the fuck' expression. Though when Roxas looked at the student his eyes widened and he hurried down the hall to his next class. Roxas growled and ran his hands through his hair as he followed the boys example and went to his class.

* * *

><p>"Hey Blondie. Dem tells me you were late to class earlier. What's up with that?" Axel asked, slinging an arm around Roxas's shoulders as they walked through the halls to the buses.<p>

"It was nothing. I was just talking with someone." Roxas said with a small smile. Axel nodded and shrugged.

"Okay. Well, you wanna spend the night at my house? Demyx won't be there, he's got plans." Axel said, looking at Roxas expectantly. He looked off for a moment, his lips pursed and his eyebrows furrowed in thought. It would be nice to have a couple days away from his father. And it would be a couple more days for his current bruises to heal up a bit more. He then nodded and gave Axel a small smile.

"Sure, sounds good. I'll just have to talk to my mom." He said. Axel grinned.

"Great! Reno and I will drive you home so you can-"

"No!" Roxas said quickly without thinking and suddenly pulling away from the red head. Why did he do that? He didn't want to have to explain anything to Axel about his home life! He already knew that Roxas hated his father, he didn't really want to tell him why. Axel would call the cops.

"What?" Axel asked, staring oddly at the blond. Roxas stood there for a moment, mouth agape as he tried to figure out what to tell the red head.

"I- I just... Don't really want to see my dad." Roxas said quietly, blushing slightly and looking at the floor. Axel stared at him for a moment, slightly surprised then smiled and nodded.

"Okay Blondie. Just call your mom and we'll head home with Reno." Axel said happily, tossing his arm back around Roxas's shoulders and holding out his phone for Roxas to take. Roxas sighed with relief and walked down the hall with Axel as he quickly dialed his home number. After a couple of rings the phone was answered.

"Hello?" A deep voice asked. A voice Roxas recognized as his father's. Why was he already home? He should still be at work shouldn't he? His mother should be the only one home right now, so why. Was. He. Home?

"D-dad... Is mom there?" Roxas asked quietly so that Axel couldn't hear the bit of fear and nervousness in his voice.

"Yeah. Why?" His father said suspiciously.

"I um... Wanted to talk to her for a minute. Can you please put her on?" Roxas said, glancing over at Axel from the corner of his eye. Axel was watching him with worried eyes as he spoke with his father.

"Why?" He asked. Roxas pulled the phone away from his ear, glaring at the small device. For a moment, he completely forgot that it was Axel's phone and slammed the bottom into a near by locker, hoping the loud noise would resonate through the phone and at least startle his father if not hurt his ear. Axel watched with wide, surprised eyes but said nothing, slightly afraid the young blond might turn on him.

A loud yell of "fuck" was the last thing Roxas heard before he ended the call and handed the phone back to Axel, smirking in satisfaction all the while.

"If he calls back just talk in another language or something. He'll hang up faster if you do." Roxas said. Axel stared at him for a moment as he slowly nodded.

"Also, I'm sorry for doing that to your phone. I'll make it up to you, promise." Roxas said, smiling at the red head. Axel stared for a moment longer, then smiled and chuckled.

"It's alright Blondie. You can just make it up to me with a kiss." He said with a cheeky grin.

"In your dreams." Roxas said, chuckling and nudging Axel in the ribs with his elbow.

"Every night baby." He said, winking and giving Roxas a good tap on his bottom. Roxas jumped and a deep pink colored his cheeks in embarrassment.

"Axel!" Roxas yelled, slapping the boy on the arm. He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted slightly as he took caution to keep a couple steps away from the red head. Axel laughed and grinned at Roxas.

"What? I didn't do anything." He said innocently. Roxas rolled his eyes and scoffed, though he couldn't help the small smirk on his lips.

"You're so full of shit your eyes should be brown." Roxas said teasingly. Axel grinned and ruffled the blond's hair.

"Whatever. Come on, we gotta get to Reno before he gets impatient and leaves." Axel said. Roxas raised a brow to the red head.

"No, he wouldn't really leave us." Axel clarified before Roxas could ask. Roxas blushed slightly and nodded.

"Hey kiddo." Roxas heard to his right. He tensed slightly and squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip and taking deep breaths through his nose.

"You again? Didn't we make ourselves clear last time?" Axel said, slightly irritated.

"Oh crystal! Though, I really don't care much. Besides, I live here now, and I go to this school. So if I run into 'Blondie' here, it's just pure coincidence. Happened to be in the same place at the same time, ain't that right Tiger." Xigbar said, staring at Roxas with narrowed eyes as he said 'tiger'. Roxas glared at the older boy, contemplating whether or not to punch Xigbar in the throat. So far, that decision was leaning towards punching him in the face. Xigbar's gaze turned back to Axel's with a smirk.

"He hasn't told you yet has he?" Xigbar asked. Axel raised a brow at Xigbar, though his frown was firmly in place.

"Hasn't told me what?" Axel asked. Xigbar rolled his eyes.

"Hasn't told you his name." Xigbar said sarcastically. Roxas's cheeks flushed a bright pink and he looked down at the floor. " What do you think I'm talking about?" Xigbar took a moment to look between the two. Roxas's sudden embarrassment and Axel's wide eyes and confused expression. Xigbar looked at them suspiciously for a moment, then it clicked.

"You haven't told him your name yet, have you kiddo?" Xigbar asked as a wolffish grin spread across his features, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Roxas's silence was all the answer he needed.

"Oh wow. Now what brought this on Tiger? Know what? Nevermind. I've gotta get running. I'll get the details later. Don't worry though Red. I'm sure you'll find out everything in due time. Even if some of it he won't tell you, you'll still find out. See ya later Tiger." Xigbar said, slapping Roxas on the ass as he passed the younger blond. Roxas jumped and let out a small yelp, instinctually putting his hands over his butt. He turned and glared at the man's backside as he walked away and he knew that he was probably grinning the entire time.

* * *

><p>Axel and Blondie were sat in the red head's room, Blondie messing around on Axel's laptop as Axel played video games. Though he wasn't really paying much mind to it, his mind was on other things. He glanced over to the blond on the other side of his couch. Like what was up with Xigbar, and what was he so determined to explain to the blond that he had to bug him so often. It was easy for Axel to fix, but the older boy put Blondie in a foul mood, and Axel didn't like to see the boy upset. Axel sighed and placed the remote on the arm rest and turned slightly to look at the other boy.<p>

"Hey Blondie?" Axel started. The blond paused in his typing and raised a brow, slowly turning his head to look at Axel.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I was just wondering... What's up with Xigbar? Why won't he leave you alone?" Axel asked, looking curiously at the other boy. Blondie's eyes widened slightly and he bit his lip in thought.

"Well, you already know we used to date. We broke up because I caught him kissing another guy. After I broke it off, he kept trying to explain the kiss, saying it wasn't his fault, he'd call me, come to my house, bug me outside of my house, all before I moved. I just told him to leave me alone then ignored him, getting away as fast as I could. Now he's moved here to bug me more." Blondie explained, staring at the far wall and sucking his teeth. Axel's brows furrowed in confusion and it was quiet for a moment as he tried to think.

"How did he convince his parent to move here?" Axel asked. Blondie blinked and furrowed his brows for a moment, then a look of realization crossed his features.

"Xigbar's an orphan. He's lived on the streets for two years now, so moving around is no problem for him. He can live anywhere he wants. Which is bad for me..." He said. Blondie laid his head against the back of the couch and covered his face with his hands. Axel watched, trying to figure out what to do. The red head sighed through his nose then moved closer to the blond and gently grabbed his wrist. He pulled the boys hands away from his face slowly, giving Blondie the opportunity to pull his hands back if he so chose to, and smiled reassuringly at the boy.

"Don't worry. I won't let him keep bugging you. And I'm always going to be here for you if you need me Blondie." Axel said. He slowly looked over to the red head, his eyes shining, and stared at him for a moment.

"Thank you, Axel." Blondie said, smiling at the other boy.

"Hey, don't mention it. That's what friends are for right?" Axel said with a grin and patted the blond on the arm. Said blond chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"I guess so." He said with a smile.

"... Why does he call you Tiger?" Axel asked, looking at the blond in confusion. Blondie laughed and shook his head.

"You got me. Though he liked it when I growled at him. In a sexy way, you know?" He said with a smile. Axel made a kind of grossed out face to that. Blondie laughed and pushed the red head.

"Knock it off, he's not that bad, and he's got a good personality. If it wasn't for him cheating on me I'd still be with him. Then where would you be? Chasing tail you'd never have." He said, sticking out his tongue at Axel. The red head pouted.

"That's cold Blondie." He said as he folded his arms over his chest. Blondie rolled his eyes and lent his head against Axel's shoulder.

"I'm just playing with you Axel. Don't get your panties in a wad like Larxene." He said, smile still present on his face.

"Oh Blondie, don't be silly. Larxene doesn't wear panties." Axel said, a small smile spreading across his face. Blondie laughed.

"I'm sorry, your right. Don't get your panties in a wad like Kairi then." He said. Axel grinned and ruffled the blond's hair.

"That's better."

* * *

><p>"He~y Roxas." Xigbar said as he slid into the seat next to the blond, his back to the table and a wide grin spread across his face. Roxas was currently sitting alone at the lunch table, waiting for Axel and Demyx to come over. He was perfectly content until Xigbar spotted him and decided to join him. Roxas sighed, rolling his eyes and dropping his fork on his plate before looking at the other boy.<p>

"What now Xigbar?" Roxas asked, staring at the other with a bored expression.

"Well, seeing you here all lonely made me think of the old days... So I thought I should come join you so people wouldn't think you were the weird kid with no friends." Xigbar said, still grinning at Roxas.

"That's nice. But unnecessary. Axel and Demyx will be joining me soon, they just have to get through the lunch line." Roxas said, looking towards the blond and red head in the line chatting. Axel glanced over to Roxas worriedly. Roxas smiled back at him, hoping that it would convey to him that everything was okay and he didn't need to be worried. Axel nodded slightly then turned back to Demyx, who was still talking to him.

"Looks like they're gonna take a bit longer. I think I'll stay till they get over here. So anyways, hows things going with Axel? Told him your name yet?" Xigbar said, leaning back against the table and watching the blond out of the corner of his eye. Roxas sighed and lent his cheek on his palm.

"I don't see how my life is any of your business anymore Xigbar." Roxas said.

"I'll take that as a no. Anyways, when we were together your life wasn't any of my business. I'm lucky you even told me about your cutting. Though I kind of knew already. Only the emo kids at our old school wore the kind of clothes you do. I'm kind of surprised your new friends haven't figured it out either." Xigbar said, glancing over to Axel and Demyx. Xigbar still had a bit of time with the blond, but he'd have to wrap it up soon seeing as they were nearing the end of the line. He turned back to Roxas as the blond started to speak again.

"I only told you about that because you wanted to have sex. Besides, you knew plenty about what happened in my life back then." He said as he started to pick at his food.

"That's a lie kiddo. I barely knew anything and I still do. I just know how you react to certain things now. Like when you see the person you like your eyes dilate and your breathing quickens just that little bit, and you get that cute light shade of pink on your cheeks. Or how when you feel the urge to cut, you call that one person to make you laugh and calm you down and just take your mind off everything bad happening to you and just be you. Or when your upset you avoid everyone... Except one person though right?" Xigbar said. Roxas looked toward Axel as Xigbar spoke. The red head was paying for his food. Xigbar stared at Roxas for a moment then chuckled.

"And there it is." Xigbar said, shaking his head slightly with a smile on his face. Roxas's gaze snapped over to Xigbar and he looked at the older boy curiously.

"There what is?" Roxas asked. Xigbar smiled at the younger boy and placed his hand over Roxas'.

"You can tell him your name now Roxas. Your over me." He said. Roxas's eyes widened and he stared at the man, completely oblivious to the quickly approaching red head, and the blond following at a slower pace. Xigbar, however, was more aware of him and removed his hand from Roxas'.

"Hey Blondie. Xigbar." Axel said, the older boys name coming out as more of a growl. Roxas' eyes snapped to Axel and Xigbar tilted his head back till he was looking upside down at the red head.

"Flamsilock." He greeted with a small salute and a grin. "How's it hanging?"

"Are you bugging Blondie?" Axel asked, ignoring the older boys question.

"'Course not! We were just having a little chat, nothing too serious. I gotta get going though. Things to do, people to see. The whole sha-bang!" He said, standing from his seat. Axel nodded slowly, watching the boy with narrowed eyes.

"Go get 'em Tiger." Xigbar said, patting Roxas on the shoulder. That seemed to snap Roxas out of his daze and he looked over his shoulder at the older boy, a frown on his face and his eye brows pinched together.

"You okay Blondie?" Axel asked, earning Roxas's attention once more. Roxas blinked a couple times then slowly nodded.

"Was he bugging you? Cause I'll go kick his ass for you." Axel said, looking seriously at the blond.

"No, he was actually... helping me." Roxas said slowly, turning his gaze toward the table.

"How was he helping you?" Demyx asked curiously. Roxas thought about it for a moment, but shook his head then smiled up at his two friends.

"Nevermind, it's nothing." He said. Demyx looked at Axel questioningly, but he just shrugged and shook his head, obviously not understanding either, but knowing Roxas well enough to know that he should just leave it be. The three continued their meal with idle chatter about their days so far and random stories from their weekend.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay another chapter! This story is going pretty smoothly so far. I don't know if you know this, but I love Xigbar :3 he's such a boss and his attitude about things is just awesome. I'd totally hang with him lol. But his appearance in this chapter was big! He's just running in and changing things up and telling Roxas what's up! lol. Seriously though, I love the relationship between them. Well, the one I've got running in my head at least, their relationship is still going through repairs at the moment, but seriously, they're so much fun to write together :)<strong>

**Anyways, how many more chapters do you think it's gonna be till Roxas finally tells Axel his name and we get into fluffier, squishier (not like_that _._.) things. Can't wait! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will try to get the next one up for you guys soon.**

**One quick question before I go though, writing this and having to look back on New Schools and Old Friends makes me kind of want to rewrite it. Part of me says to go for it because I feel like that story is terrible because of my horrible writing skills from way back when and I know it's got so much potential and room for so much more story, but the other part of me feels like I should just leave it because it was one of my first stories and even though it was terrible it's now a reminder of what was and now what is and I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain my feelings for leaving it as is. Though I think if you've ever written a story that you felt came out terrible and are/were at a crossroads like I am now, you probably understand my feelings. But anyways, seeing as you are the readers, I want your opinion, so if you read New Schools and Old Friends let me know your opinion, because if you guys really like it as is like a lot, then I'm not gonna mess with it, just for you guys. I mean, I'd still follow the story how I'd already written it, so all the same stuff would happen, but with added detail better writing and spelling and probably throw in extra scenes. It also would not be written in first person anymore, because as I really hate writing stories like that now, I like writing them much better in third person. So, let me know. I would really appreciate the feed back on this question. If you've read all of this, thank you so much.**

**And also, just thank you all so much for all your love to this story and though there's not many, thank you for the reviews, there's times where they've been the only thing keeping me going, and I really appreciate them. I don't even mind there being only a few, because those few are enough for me :) I love you all, and I will catch you later!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't normally like to write an A/N at the beginning of my stories anymore, but just wanted to make a quick response to Roxie Pox (Why you no sign in? D: it's okay, I don't mind if you don't have an account or something, I just hate not getting to respond to my reviewers, especially when the reviews are as lovely as yours :)) Anyways, thank you hun for the love and support. Yeah, that was basically my thought about the whole thing. It just kinda pushes me to get better than that. It just kills me when I know it could be so much better XD and oh God, my grammar back then DX I wanna crawl into a hole when I see it! But, once again, thank you so much and I will definitely keep this story going. I'll finish it for you and all my other lovely readers and reviewers. Because really at times it's like I don't want to write at all, and reading the reviews I get just makes me want to keep going and work harder. So really, your awesome. Have a cookie :D *hands you cookie***

**Lol well, on with the show :)**

* * *

><p>Roxas sat outside on the school steps, looking up at the sky. It was lunch time right now, but the blond had decided he wasn't really hungry and would sit outside for a while. He really just needed a bit of time to himself right now. He liked spending time with Axel and Demyx, but ever since the talk he'd had with Xigbar in the cafeteria he hadn't really been like himself, and he could tell the two were starting to worry a bit. He wasn't able to think much about what Xigbar said when Axel and Demyx were around, seeing as they distracted him. His father also hadn't been home for the past couple of nights, apparently he was working late, though Roxas believed he was just out drinking, so he'd been able to sit in the living room and actually spend time with his mother. A rarity in his home. So he figured for right now it would be best if he took some time to himself and thought things out.<p>

He knew Xigbar was right. He was over him. But he was worried. Ever since he'd found Xigbar cheating on him he couldn't help but wonder, what if Axel did too? If Xigbar, the man he'd supposedly loved for two years, could cheat on him after all that time, what was to say that Axel wouldn't? Roxas had to admit, he was a mess. His father beat him daily after he would return from work, making up some kind of bull shit that Roxas had pulled and sometimes he'd even take the fall for his mother, not wanting the man to hurt her. Then he tended to go to his room after those beatings and would pull out his knife, mulling over whether or not he really wanted to cut himself, but after he finally decided he'd think about how useless the debate was in the first place. He was going to do it with or without the debate. There was the rare occasion when he'd contemplate suicide, but he knew he couldn't leave his mother. It would break her heart. It was no wonder Xigbar cheated on him, if Roxas were him he'd have done the same. Though, if Roxas were in Xigbar's position he wouldn't have dated him in the first place. Who would want to be with such a depressing and pathetic person as himself anyways? And Axel... If he knew the truth about Roxas, he wouldn't want to be with him either.

"Roxas!" A voice yelled, pulling the boy from his thoughts as he looked up curiously. Before him stood Demyx. He was slightly bent over and his head was tilted slightly to the side as he looked concernedly at his blond counterpart.

"You okay?" Demyx asked, his eyes shining with worry. Roxas stared at him for a moment then slowly nodded.

"Yeah I'm fine. What's up, why aren't you at lunch?" Roxas said. Demyx's brows furrowed as he straightened up and placed his hands on his hips.

"I was looking for you. Axel and I didn't see you in the cafeteria when we arrived and we sat down and waited for you for a bit, but when you didn't show Ax kind of freaked out. So we split up to look for you. I was supposed to look around outside, but you were right outside the doors here. Guess I didn't really have to go too far." He said, rubbing his neck slightly as he looked up at the cloudy sky. Roxas nodded slightly in understanding then turned his gaze to a building across the street.

"What are you doing out here?" Demyx asked after a moment of silence. Roxas shrugged and Demyx's frown deepened slightly. He sighed and took a seat next to the boy on the steps.

"Are you alright Roxas? You've been acting strange ever since you talked to Xigbar a couple days ago. Did he say something to hurt you?" Demyx said. Roxas shook his head. He turned his eyes to his lap and bit his lip as he tried to think of what to tell Demyx. His mind kept reminding him that Demyx could keep a secret better than anyone he knew, but he didn't know how much to actually tell the boy. If he told him something too big he could tell Axel, thinking it was in the best interest of Roxas.

"No, he was fine Demyx. It's just... Remember how I told you the day we met that I wouldn't tell Axel my name until I was ready for a relationship?" Roxas asked, looking at Demyx with questioning and confused eyes. Demyx nodded and Roxas took a deep breath before he continued.

"Well, Xigbar kind of figured out what I was up to and he told me that I was over him already and to go ahead and tell Axel my name. I know he's right, I am over him, but..." Roxas said, trailing off. Demyx stared at him expectantly for a moment. When it seemed like Roxas wasn't going to continue he spoke up.

"But what?" He urged. Roxas bent forward slightly, his elbows on his legs as he buried his hands in his hair.

"I'm worried that the relationship might not work. I mean, if Xigbar could cheat on me after two years of being together, Axel could too right?" Roxas said, his voice quiet and slightly choked as he felt a lump taking form in his throat. Demyx's eyes widened slightly, but soon went back to normal as he smiled reassuringly at the other blond. He placed a hand on his shoulder and moved a bit closer.

"Oh Roxas, Axel would never do that kind of thing. He's not like that. He's straight forward about this stuff. If he wants someone he's not going to sit around on his hands and wait to see if they like him too, he goes right up and asks them out or starts flirting with them. And when he doesn't want to be with someone anymore he breaks up with them as soon as he realizes it. But Roxas, I really think that your different from Axel's past relationship. I think Axel is actually _in love_ with you. I mean, the way he talks about you and acts around you is so much different from his last relationship." Demyx said. Roxas slowly shook his head, tears burning in his eyes as he lifted his head and looked at the sky.

"Axel doesn't know me that well. If he knew the real me..." Roxas trailed off, not wanting to say the words out loud. He could barely even stand the thought, saying it out loud would just be so much worse.

"Roxas, Axel doesn't care about that kind of stuff. You could be a freaking terrorist! He'd still love you to death." Demyx said. Roxas stared at him in bewilderment then started to laugh.

"A terrorist? Really Dem?" He said, grinning at the blond, his eyes still shimmering with unshed tears. Demyx chuckled then nodded.

"Yes. It got my point across though didn't it?" He said, smiling warmly at Roxas. Said boy took a deep breath then slowly nodded, knowing Demyx was right.

"The past is the past Roxas. What you did then doesn't matter. What you do now, and what you're going to do is what really matters. Just remember that okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Dem. I really appreciate it, but I think I might need to talk to someone else about this." Roxas said, smiling slightly back at the boy. Demyx nodded, patting Roxas on the back then using his shoulder for support as he stood.

"No problem man. Just don't keep Axel waiting longer than he has to Roxas. He really likes you and really cares about you, so he deserves to know soon." Demyx said. Roxas nodded and also stood.

"I won't Dem." He said. The two smiled at each other then walked back into the school building. Demyx went off to find Axel and let him know he'd found Roxas, but the shorter blond went to the cafeteria, in search of the one person who knew him well enough to know exactly what he was thinking and knew what to say to calm his fears.

Xigbar.

As Roxas opened the doors to the cafeteria he ran right into the older boy, almost falling over from the impact. Xigbar was quick to grab his arms and steady him.

"You okay kiddo?" Xigbar asked as he looked over the younger blond, worry barely evident on his face.

"Y-yeah I'm good." Roxas said. He blinked a couple times then slowly looked up at Xigbar, who was still holding his arms.

"You can let go." Roxas said. Xigbar pulled his hands back quickly then balled them into tight fists and shoved them in his pockets.

"I'll see you later then kiddo." Xigbar said, moving to leave the cafeteria, but stopped when a hand grabbed his arm. Xigbar looked back curiously at Roxas. He was looking slightly at the floor and biting his lip. Xigbar knew him well enough to know what that meant.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly, turning back to the blond with a raised brow. Roxas let go of Xigbar's arm and placed it over his wrist as he turned to look at the older boy.

"Can we talk outside?" Roxas asked. Xigbar stared at him for a moment then slowly nodded. He lead the way out of the cafeteria and out the doors of the school. He found them a secluded spot to talk, Roxas immediately sitting and pulling his knees up to his chest. Xigbar looked at him for a moment, remembering the many times he'd seen Roxas sit like that. Though he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Roxas look so upset. Xigbar rubbed at the back of his neck then sat down beside him, probably a little closer than he should have. Force of habit right?

"So what's up?" Xigbar asked, finally breaking the long silence between them.

"It's about Axel." Roxas said quietly. Xigbar rolled his eyes.

"Obviously." He said sarcastically. "What about him?" Roxas gave him a look, but continued, deciding to stay on topic.

"I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship with him. I've known for a week that I'm over you, but I keep thinking about how you cheated on me and, if you could cheat on me then Axel could. And he doesn't know everything about me yet. What if when he finds out about my dad and my addictions he just decides he doesn't want me anymore and tosses me like a piece of day old meat?" Roxas said sadly, looking at the ground and watching as an ant passed by his feet, carrying off a small crumb of food.

"Roxas, why the hell do you think I've been wanting to talk to you about our fucking break up?" Xigbar yelled, startling Roxas. He looked at the older boy with wide frightened eyes.

"Sorry." Xigbar mumbled, looking to the side with a light dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas asked.

"Look Roxas," Xigbar started, scratching the back of his neck. "I didn't cheat on you. I swear to God, I would never do that to you, I loved you too much and I still do. I never wanted to hurt you. And like I tried to tell you several times, he kissed me. The moment I realized what happened I pushed him away. And then I saw you running off down the hall. You wouldn't let me explain anything when I caught up to you. But Roxas I've only ever had eyes for you. In all of my life, you were the best thing to ever happen to me. You might have been a little rough around the edges, but I didn't care about that at all. Why would I ever give that up?" Xigbar explained, staring deeply into Roxas's eyes as he spoke. All the while Roxas stared at him in disbelief.

"Seriously?" Roxas asked quietly. Xigbar nodded and smiled at the younger boy.

"Of course Roxas. And I'm sorry that I hurt you. But you've moved on. Our relationship is over and you need to stop dwelling on the past and look at what's right in front of you. I know I'm the only boyfriend you've had, but you can't compare Axel to me. Your relationship with him wouldn't be the same as ours was, hell it could be ten times better. But you won't ever know until you give it a try. And... If your so worried that he won't like you anymore when he finds out about your dad or the addictions, then maybe before you get into a relationship with him you should tell him everything. Now, I don't know Axel as well as you do, but I don't think he's going to care about those things Roxas. If anything he's just going to try and help you. And that's something you really need Roxas. Because you can't go through the rest of your teen years being beaten by that fucking bastard. It's not right, no one deserves that, especially you." Xigbar said. Roxas just simply stared at him. Xigbar smiled and put an arm around the boy's shoulders, pulling him against him in a hug. Roxas rested his head on the older boy's shoulder and Xigbar laid his head atop the blond spikes.

"So what do I do now?" Roxas asked, after a long moment of silence. Xigbar pursed his lips and stared at the grass for a moment as he thought.

"Well, I suggest, you start with your name. Because Axel still needs to know that. Then, if you want to, you tell him about your 'rough edges'" Xigbar said, poking Roxas in the sides. The blond squirmed for a moment then slapped Xigbar on the chest.

"None of that." He warned.

"Oh, so I can hug you, but I can't poke you in the sides? I don't see how that is at all fair." Xigbar teased. Roxas smiled and pushed the older boy.

"You've never been allowed to poke me there, you just never cared about getting hit." Roxas said, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting at the ground. Xigbar laughed and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Your something else kid." Xigbar said.

* * *

><p>Axel and Roxas stood outside in the school parking lot, waiting for Demyx and Reno. They were off to the theater to see some scary movie that had just come out. Axel and Reno were the most excited about the movie though. Roxas really didn't mind scary movies, but he was mostly just going so he wouldn't have to go home. Then there was Demyx... Well, he didn't really want to go since he didn't like scary movies, but he hated when Axel picked on him about getting scared by the movies, so he basically went to impress Axel. As you can imagine, that rarely happened.<p>

"So-" Axel started, but was quickly interrupted by Roxas.

"Axel?" Said red head blinked in surprise and looked at the blond.

"Sorry." Roxas said quickly, blushing and looking away from the red head. "You go ahead."

"Nah, your's is probably more important. I was just gonna ask if you come here often anyways." Axel said, grinning at his joke. Roxas chuckled.

"I just... Nevermind." Roxas said, looking up at the sky. Axel watched him for a moment then scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Who did you go to talk to after Demyx left you this afternoon?" Axel asked before he could even think to stop himself. Roxas's eyes widened and he quickly looked at the ground, biting his lip. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked a small pebble away from him.

"Xigbar." He said quietly. Axel pursed his lips and nodded slowly in understanding. I guess he couldn't really blame him. They had dated for a long time, and Xigbar knew him pretty well, so if it was something really that big, of course he would go to the person who knew him best for answers.

"You know," Axel started, placing a hand on his hip and running a hand through his hair. Roxas looked up out of curiosity. "If you ever need to talk or if you need help with anything, I'm here for you." Axel looked to the side with a slight blush. Roxas stared at him for a moment then smiled up at the red head.

"Thanks Axel." He said.

"No problem Blondie." Axel said, returning the smile.

"... Roxas." The blond said after a moment of silence. Axel's eyes widened and he looked over to Roxas in surprise.

"What?" He asked, his brows furrowing slightly. Had the boy really just told him his name?

"My name. It's Roxas." He said. He was looking right at Axel and a slight blush coated his cheeks.

"Does this mean...?" Axel trailed off. A smile worked it's way onto his face as he slowly nodded and the red head broke out into a huge grin. He quickly pulled Roxas into a hug, squeezing the boy's smaller body to his own and smiling into his golden locks. Roxas chuckled and returned the hug.

"I missed something didn't I?" A familiar voice said off to the side. Axel looked over curiously and found Demyx standing there, looking amused yet utterly confused at the same time. Axel grinned and nodded.

"Yup, Roxy here just told me his name." Axel said. Demyx's eyes widened slightly then he grinned and slapped Axel on the back.

"Congratulations man!" Demyx said cheerfully.

"Thanks!"

"Blond being crushed here!" Roxas yelled breathily, though it was muffled by Axel's chest, and he waved a hand around to get their attention. Axel and Demyx looked at the boy in his arms then Axel chuckled and released him.

"Sorry Roxas." Axel said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as Roxas took a deep breath of air. Roxas just waved him off, shaking his head slightly.

"'S fine." He said, doubled over as he tried regaining his breath. Suddenly they heard a familiar rumble, pulling up behind them. They all turned to see Reno pulling up in his car, grinning over at them.

"Hey, what you doing to Choco?" He asked, nodding towards Roxas.

"The name's Roxas! Got it memorized?" He said with a grin, placing his hands on his hips as he quoted Axel. Axel and Demyx burst into laughter at this as Reno's eyes grew slightly. The older red head then chuckled and raised a brow slightly.

"And here I thought you were Axel!" He said sarcastically. "Now get in the car you knuckleheads! I don't wanna miss that movie!"

"I bet Demyx wouldn't mind that too much." Axel said with a grin as he walked up to the car, grabbing Roxas too make sure the boy sat in the back with him.

"Shut up Axel." Demyx said with a pout.

* * *

><p>At the movies Axel and Roxas had sat together, the red head putting an arm around Roxas's shoulders almost immediately after they'd sat. They'd sat like that through about a fourth of the movie before Roxas had moved in his seat so he was closer to Axel and rested his head on the other boy's shoulder. Demyx had been huddled in a ball for the whole movie, looking over his knees as Reno either teased him or tried to calm him down. Though even in the dark theater as he was distracted by the movie and Demyx, Reno didn't miss when Roxas cuddled up next to Axel. So when they got back into the car the couple had gotten endlessly teased on the way to Demyx's house.<p>

"You've made your point, now kindly shut up." Axel said, rubbing a hand across his face as they pulled away from Demyx's house.

"Aww I'm just playing with ya. But I'll leave you two alone now so you can make out." Reno said with a cheeky grin.

"Please do." Axel mumbled. He wasn't really going to make out with Roxas, but he knew that if he just agreed his brother would shut up, and he really didn't want to prolong that conversation. Especially since Roxas was currently bent over in his seat with his face buried in his hands. He could tell from the tint of red on the blond's ears that he was blushing now.

Soon enough, much too soon for Axel's liking, they pulled up to Roxas's house.

"I'll walk you to the door." Axel said, hopping out of the car after Roxas.

"No!" Roxas said, quickly spinning around to look at Axel with his hands up as if to stop him. Axel and Reno looked at him curiously.

"Why?" Reno finally asked. Roxas bit his lip, trying to think of a reason, but he was drawing a blank. Roxas lowered his head slightly and grabbed the red head's wrist, leading him to the door. Axel watched the boy in confusion as he walked with the blond.

"You okay?" Axel asked as they walked up the porch. Roxas sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just my dad." Roxas said, nodding toward the man's car in the driveway. Axel looked over to the car for a moment then turned his attention back to Roxas. The boy had started to unlock the door as Axel looked away.

"Don't want him to meet me?" Axel asked with a grin. Roxas paused in turning the key and looked back at Axel, his expression deadpanned.

"More like, I don't want you to meet him." He said. Axel raised a brow to that, but Roxas just turned back to the door and finished unlocking it. He opened it a crack then turned back to Axel.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Roxas said with a small smile, though the red head could tell that it wasn't genuine.

"Yeah, see ya Roxas." He said. Before he left he kissed the blond on the forehead, knowing full well Reno had seen. He didn't really care though. He'd put up with his brother's teasing so long as he had Roxas. The blond blushed a bit at this, and turned his head to hide it. Axel smiled and left the boy on the porch, heading back to the car. When he got in Roxas still hadn't gone inside, but as Reno pulled away Axel saw the door open behind the blond, a man stepping out and saying something to Roxas.

Roxas had jumped and quickly spun around to face the man. His expression suddenly went from startled to angry in moments and the two started to yell at each other. The man grabbed Roxas's arm and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind them. Axel's brows furrowed. What the hell was that? The man seemed to come out, already mad. And even though they'd started yelling, it wasn't loud enough for Axel to hear from the side of the road, so either the man was cautious of his neighbors or he just wasn't mad enough to really yell. Though from the look on his face, the latter didn't seem too likely.

"You okay bro?" Reno asked as they stopped at a light. Axel turned and looked at Reno then slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good." Axel said. To Axel's surprise, the rest of the car ride was relatively quiet. Axel wasn't complaining though. He was glad that Reno had decided to just leave him to his thoughts right now.

* * *

><p><strong>And there's another chapter! Lots of progress in this one too :) And what ever will Axel do? Will he question Roxas? Or will he leave it be? I don't even know yet! XD<strong>

**So, am I the only one who loves Xigbar's meddling? I guess. But seriously, I love just making him randomly pop up around Roxas and meddle with his relationship. But it's cool to me how he knows Roxas so well that he's able to help him out.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you all later ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yeah, here's another one of these**

**Guest, you know who you are. I know, I have been so tempted, but this wouldn't really be an Akuroku or a prequel to New Schools and Old Friends if I did that. If you like though, I could write you a XigRoku story. I've been kind of wanting to, I just haven't any clue what to do. But I do love the pairing, the relationship between them is just so great. Haha oh my, get bake? As in get stoned? XD That would be a sight to see love. Thank you so much for the review, it made my day :)**

* * *

><p>Roxas pulled his arm from his fathers grasp after he was dragged into the living room by the older man. He knew that was probably a mistake, doing that could piss the drunk off more, but Roxas really didn't care right now. He'd had a nice day out with Axel and he just wanted to go to his room and not have to deal with his fucking father right now, he didn't want him to ruin his good mood.<p>

Roxas glared up at the brunet, who was returning the glare tenfold.

"I'm so sick of your fucking shit." The man slurred out.

"Yeah well I'm sick of yours!" Roxas spat.

"Don't you talk to me like that boy! I'll make you fucking regret it!"

"Whatever."

That was it. That was all it took. The man punched Roxas in the face, so hard that Roxas stumbled and fell on his ass. Roxas quickly grabbed his nose in pain and he felt blood pouring from his nostrils.

"What's going on in here?" Roxas's mother asked as she walked into the room. Her hair, once beautiful and golden like Roxas's now a dingier coloring from the stress of dealing with her husband and his drunken rage for so long. It was pulled back into a messy bun and her face was framed with long bangs. Her eyes, once so full of life, a now dull blue with dark circles below them from sleepless nights. She wore a nice white tank top with a pair of old faded blue jeans with random patches here and there to cover holes. She gasped at the sight of Roxas, on the floor bleeding and quickly knelt beside him.

"Oh honey are you okay?" She asked worriedly, gently touching the boys hand to get him to move it away as she placed her other hand behind his head to hold him still.

"Leave him alone, Kate. The little bastard deserves it. It will teach him a lesson not to fucking talk like that to me." The older man said, glaring at Roxas.

"I'm fine Mom, it's okay." Roxas said. She looked worriedly at her son, but backed away, not wanting to upset her husband anymore.

"Go to your room boy. I don't want to see you the rest of the fucking night." Roxas stood, glaring at the man as he left the room. He slowly made his way up to his room then closed and locked the door behind him. After a few minutes of muffled talking down stairs Roxas heard the front door slam shut and heard the car start. He heard footsteps quickly running up the stairs, then a quick knock on his door.

"Roxas sweetie? Can I come in?" His mother said from the other side.

Roxas moved back to his door, swiftly unlocking it and turning the knob so it would unlatch. She slowly opened the door then slipped inside, closing it behind her. She held a face cloth in one hand and some rubbing alcohol in the other.

"Are you okay honey?" She asked as she walked over to him.

"I'm fine Mom. He's done worse." He said, watching her sit down beside him. She uncapped the alcohol and poured some onto the cloth. The pungent smell of the liquid filling his nostrils and making him cringe slightly. It was never a smell he liked, and now he was going to end up with it all over his face. Fantastic.

"So what happened Roxas?" She asked as she started to clean the blood off his face. He felt a slight blush on his cheeks and he looked down slightly in shame.

"I was just upset. I didn't want to deal with him. I kind of snapped. I knew it was stupid the entire time, but... I'm so fed up with him mom. Why do we live like this? Why can't you just get a divorce?" Roxas said.

"It's hard to explain sweetie. But please understand that I just can't do that." She said.

"We shouldn't have to live like this mom! There's times where I don't want to come home at all, the only reason I do is because of you. We shouldn't have to live in fear like this. Especially you. You deserve so much better mom." Roxas said, looking his mother in the eye determinedly.

"That's enough Roxas. I know how you feel sweet heart, but it's not that simple."

"But mom-"

"That's the end of this conversation Roxas."

The blond's shoulders slumped slightly. He wanted to continue, wanted to beg his mother to just leave the man. But he wasn't going to argue with her. He knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. She already goes through so much. Roxas knows that. He just couldn't understand how someone as sweet and caring as his mother could end up with some one so terrible.

"Now," She started, taking a deep breath and clearing away the last of the blood. "Your father has gone to a bar for the night, so you don't have to worry about anything right now. You just go take some pain reliever and I'm going to finish up dinner for you." She stood and kissed the blond on the forehead. She paused in the door as she was about to leave though and turned back to her son.

"And please Roxas, no more pushing your father. I don't think I can handle him hitting you like this again baby." She said. Roxas sighed and nodded slightly. She smiled then left the room. He listened to her descend the stair case for a moment then got up and walked into his bathroom. He looked through the medicine cabinet for a moment and pulled out the pain reliever. He read the back for a minute to find out how many to take.

"Two huh?" He said quietly. He bit his lip and stared at the bottle for a moment then turned and peeked out the door for a moment. His mother would have knocked before entering, but it's better to be safe than sorry right? He uncapped the bottle and quickly poured four pills into his hand. He downed the first three dry, but for the fourth pill he turned on the sink and cupped his hand under the running water, sipping it quickly.

* * *

><p>Axel sat in his room contemplating what to do about what he had seen. He'd gone straight to his room the moment he'd gotten home and had been sitting on his bed for about two hours staring at his ceiling. Reno had come up at one point to tell him to come eat, but he'd just blown him off, telling him he wasn't hungry. Reno had been concerned, knowing his brother to never miss a meal, but left him alone. He knew that if Axel decided he wanted to talk about it with him, whatever it was that was bothering him, he'd come talk to him when he was ready. He wasn't going to push the boy. That usually just got him no where and just pissed Axel off anyways. The red head couldn't figure it out though. He just kept replaying the scene in his head. He knew that Roxas hated his father, but for what reasons he was unsure. With a sigh Axel sat up in his bed and grabbed his phone off of his bed table. He scrolled through his contacts for a moment until he found the name he was looking for.<p>

"Hey Ax. What's up?" Demyx said as he answered the phone. Axel sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Axel?"

"Demyx, I need your help." Axel said. Axel could practically feel the grin on his friend's face, and he knew how badly he probably wanted to make a sarcastic remark. But he knew he wouldn't. Demyx could tell when the red head was being serious and didn't want to fuck around.

"What do you need?" Demyx asked, not even hiding his amusement. Axel bit his lip in thought for a moment, recalling the events as he'd left Roxas's house. He then quickly explained everything to Demyx.

"I don't know if I should talk to him about it or not. What do you think Dem?" Axel said. The blond sighed. He'd listened quietly to Axel and honestly, he was at a loss for words. From what Axel had told him, Roxas's father didn't sound too nice, but there was a problem here. They didn't know what the two had been arguing about. For all they knew Roxas could have actually done something wrong, and upon hearing the door opening he probably went to go talk to Roxas about it.

"I don't know Ax, this is a tough one."

"I don't want to stir up anything with Roxas. We just got together." Axel sighed, running a hand through his hair and flopping back on his bed.

"Well... Your not going to like this idea, but..." Demyx trailed off. Axel raised a brow to the phone before he cautiously spoke.

"But what Dem?"

"There is one person you can talk to that would probably know." Demyx said slowly, hesitantly. Axel paused and thought for a moment. Who did they know that would know about what happened? Axel's eyes widened as realization hit him.

"Ohh no Dem. No way! I'm not gonna go to him for help!"

"Then your screwed Axel. Look, I gotta go. I'm sorry I can't really help you with this, but please just think about talking to him."

"Fine, I'll think about it."

"Okay, see you tomorrow Ax."

"Yeah, see ya." And with that, Axel hung up. He huffed and turned his gaze to the window. He knew Demyx was probably right, but really, why did it have to be Xigbar?

* * *

><p>Axel walked down the halls of the high school, hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders tense as he weaved his way through the students quickly. He knew where Xigbar's locker was, but there was a reason he wasn't headed there right now. Xigbar's locker was just four away from his brothers locker. So currently, he was scouring the halls and class rooms for Roxas' ex, stopping a couple students along the way to see if they knew where the older boy was.<p>

Thankfully though, he'd finally gotten the location from a student with short blond hair and a british accent, telling him the boy's classroom, where it was and exactly which seat he sat in. This information slightly disturbed Axel, but he decided to just blow it off for the moment and get to the class room before the class started. He had found the room quickly, and sure enough he was sitting in the very seat that the blond boy had told him. Xigbar was sitting at his desk in the far back by the window, a seat that Roxas seemed to sit in often, and he was staring outside, wiggling his pencil between his fingers.

"Xigbar." Axel said as he walked up to the desk, bending over slightly and placing his palms on the desk. Xigbar's head quickly snapped over to look at the intruder. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment as he examined the red head, wondering why the boy had come looking for him, especially at his class. Though a smirk slowly pulled at his mouth as he realized that he was probably here about Roxas.

"Yo Red. What can I do for you?" Xigbar asked, watching the red head closely.

"I was dropping Roxas off at his-"

"Oh he told you his name? 'Bout damn time." Xigbar said, interrupting the red head. Axel sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, now shut up and listen. I don't have a lot of time." Axel said. Xigbar nodded and leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head.

"Okay, like I was saying. I was dropping Roxas off at his house yesterday, and as we were leaving I saw his dad open the door and start yelling at Roxas. They started arguing for a few minutes then his dad grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside." Axel explained quickly, leaving out the detail that he had walked the blond to the door. Xigbar's eyes widened slightly and he glanced around the room.

"Is Roxas at school today?" Xigbar asked. Axel raised a brow at the older boy and slightly shrugged.

"I don't know. My brother drives me to school and classes haven't started yet." Xigbar bit the inside of his lip and chewed it for a moment as he thought, Axel watching him impatiently.

"So, why are you telling me this?" Xigbar asked after a long silence. Axel sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Because... Look, I know Roxas hates his father, but he hasn't told me why, and seeing that just kind of made me worry. I told Demyx about it, but I know what he was probably thinking. That Roxas had probably actually done something wrong and the man came out to yell at him for it. But I saw the look on his face, it looked like much more than Roxas having done something wrong." Axel said. Xigbar frowned and looked out the window.

"Well, knowing that man, I think Demyx is right... But so are you." Axel's brows furrowed and he crossed his arms across his chest.

"What do you mean?" Xigbar looked back to Axel.

"Look, Roxas has a lot of baggage, most of it stemming from that man. But if you want to know anything, I'm not the one you should be talking to, because it's not my place. It is however Roxas's place. But to get him to talk to you, your going to have to keep asking him, or maybe pay a visit to his house unexpectedly. It's gonna take a lot to get him to talk though, and you have to be patient with him. Roxas is stubborn and he tries to deal with everything by himself. I'm the first person he opened up to... And I screwed up. You better not do the same." Xigbar said, staring intently at the red head.

"Now, you should probably get to your class before the bell. And let me know if Roxas is at school." Axel stared at the older boy for a moment, but nodded slightly and thanked him, then hurried out of the class room. He passed Reno on his way out, his brother looking at him in confusion. Axel stared at him for a moment then quickly looked away, hurrying for his class. When he got there he found that, indeed, Roxas wasn't there. This only worried Axel more. What the hell was going on in the blond's house?

* * *

><p>Xigbar knocked on the door of Roxas's home, crossing his arms over his chest as he bounced slightly in impatience.<p>

"Xigbar?" A sweet familiar voice said as the door opened. Xigbar looked up and smiled as he saw Roxas's mother. Her hair was down around her shoulders and slightly tousled.

"Mrs. Osment! You look lovely as always." Xigbar said, smiling at the blond. It wasn't a lie, she really was beautiful, she just always looked so tired. She blushed a bit, reminding him of Roxas, but she didn't look away as he would have to hide the tinge of pink.

"Thank you sweetie. It has been a while. Roxas tells me you moved here as well. Did you transfer orphanages or were you adopted?" She asked with a sweet smile.

"Transferred. Apparently they couldn't handle me over there, so they sent me here. Look, I'm sorry to cut our chat short, but I was wondering if Roxas was home? He wasn't at school and I got a bit worried." Xigbar said, looking questioningly at the woman. She paused for a minute, taken a bit by surprise then smiled.

"O-oh, yes honey. He's right up in his room. Would you like to go see him?" Xigbar smiled and nodded.

"Please."

"His room is the very first one at the top of the stairs to the right." She said as she moved to allow the boy into the house.

"Thank you Mrs. Osment." He said before hurrying up the stairs. He quickly tapped on Roxas's door, waiting for a response but not receiving one. He frowned and knocked again, but this time opened the door and walked in. Roxas was laying on his bed, headphones on and facing the wall. The only thing he wore was some black pajama bottoms, showing off his lean body. Several places on his back were discolored, ranging from a greenish yellow to a purple blue, and old bruises beginning to fade with a light brown color. Xigbar frowned at the sight and slowly closed the door behind him.

He walked up to the bed, staring at the form of the smaller boy for a moment. He was curled slightly on the bed, one arm under his pillow for a little more support and the other resting on the soft cotton pillowcase. His eyes were closed, but from the way he was breathing Xigbar could tell he wasn't asleep. He gently touched the boys shoulder and his eyes shot open, his whole body instantly tensing. His head snapped back to look at the intruder and visibly relaxed.

"Jesus Christ, Xigbar, you scared the shit out of me." Roxas said, pulling his head phones down around his neck, the faint hum of music floating out of them as the speakers were uncovered. Xigbar cringed slightly at the sight of Roxas's face. It sounded mean, yes, but under his eyes were dark bruises and around his nose was a red-ish purple, a cut on the very top of it.

"You look like hell kid." Xigbar said. Roxas frowned and rolled his eyes.

"Gee, you really know how to compliment a guy Xigbar." Roxas said, rolling over in his bed so he was facing Xigbar, revealing more bruises to the man. The sickening thing was that there was more on his chest than anywhere else.

"Roxas, why do you let this continue?" Xigbar asked, looking sadly over the boys body.

"You act like I haven't tried to stop this." Roxas said, running a hand through his hair. Xigbar's eyes narrowed as he stared at the boys arm, seeing several red brown scabs.

"You've been cutting again..." Xigbar said. Roxas looked at his arm then sighed.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Roxas stood from his bed and walked over to his closet, pulling on a random grey long sleeve shirt with an oddly shaped silver symbol placed towards the left side of the shirt. The symbol's base was shaped like an upside-down heart, while it's top was a thin, spiked cross with several circular notches taken out of its edges. All around the symbol was black thorns, spiraling and intertwining. Xigbar recognized the shirt as one that he had given to Roxas for his birthday.

"Are you back to taking pain meds too?" Xigbar asked, looking questioningly at the boy. Roxas sighed and placed his hands on his hips.

"Xigbar, why. Are. You. Here?" Roxas asked once more.

"You weren't in school. I got worried. The last time you skipped school your father had cracked your ribs." Xigbar said, sitting on Roxas's bed and resting his back against the wall.

"Why would you get worried? I could have just been sick."

"Axel came to my class room this morning." Xigbar paused to look at Roxas. The blond crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow to the older boy. "He told me that when he was leaving your house he saw your father come out and start yelling at you. He said you two argued for a moment then he dragged you into the house by your arm. Know anything about that?"

Roxas's eyes widened and he looked suddenly frightened.

"Axel saw that?" He asked, his voice quiet.

"Yup. He came to me, wanting to know what it was about." Roxas was suddenly terrified. Had Xigbar told him? What would Axel do? What should he do? What if Axel called the cops? He wasn't sure he could handle something like that again. That was one of the reasons he'd been so glad to move.

"You didn't... Tell him about my dad did you?" Roxas asked, staring wide eyed at the man. Xigbar slowly shook his head.

"I told him it wasn't my place and to talk to you about it." Xigbar said, closely watching the blond. His face paled considerably and Xigbar couldn't help but think of how much he looked like a ghost. His eyes were still wide, but he was no longer looking at the older boy, his eyes now moving around the floor as he tried to think through his current situation. He still wondered what the red head was going to do. Would he confront him at school? Or worse, come to his house...

Roxas buried his hands in his golden locks and gripped them tightly in his hands. He could feel a headache coming on and all he wanted to do at this point was scream at the older boy. Call him a fool and demand to know why he had thought it would be a good idea to even talk to Axel about such a subject. He was just feeding the red head enough pieces of information to actually make him pry into Roxas's life. Suddenly, Roxas felt arms wrap around his waist and he was pulled flush against a warm firm chest. Xigbar rested his head atop Roxas's and slowly rubbed his back.

"Calm down Roxas. It's all gonna be okay." Xigbar said soothingly. Roxas slowly shook his head though and grabbed the front of Xigbar's shirt tightly.

"No it's not. Axel's going to start prying, and if he finds out about my dad he may call the police." Roxas said. Xigbar made a face at that and pulled back enough to look at the blond.

"So what if he calls the police? The bastard fucking deserves to go to jail for what he's done to you and your mom! I mean, look at what he's done to you." Xigbar said, cupping Roxas's cheek and staring at the bruising around his nose and eyes.

"Look, I don't understand either okay? But my mom says we can't get the police involved, she keeps telling me something bad will happen to us if they do. That's why we haven't called the cops on him and that's why we still won't. I don't like it anymore than you do, but I can't do anything about it." Xigbar sighed and pulled the boys head back to his chest, not wanting to talk anymore but to just hold Roxas. He missed it. The warmth of the other boy pressed up against him, the tight grip on his shirt that left small wrinkles for a while as a reminder, the smell of his hair, the light blush on his cheeks as if they were doing something dirty, or the way that he would hide that blush in Xigbar's shirt and made it seem as if he was simply upset. After a minute of just taking in that moment Xigbar finally broke the silence.

"It's gonna be okay kid. I promise." Roxas chuckled and shook his head, earning him a curious look from the taller boy.

"You can't make me those kinds of promises anymore Xigbar." Xigbar frowned at the blond. What the hell did that mean? Had the boy lost his marbles?

"Just because we broke up doesn't mean we can't still be friends. You came to me just a few days ago with your whole Axel dilemma."

Roxas stared up at Xigbar for a moment then smiled slightly and buried his face in the other boys chest. He wished that could be true, but he got this feeling that anything between them wasn't meant to last. No matter what kind of relationship...

* * *

><p>Axel was walking quickly through the now crowded halls of his school. It had been about a week since he'd last seen Roxas, which was when he'd seen him and his father arguing. Today the blond was in school, but he'd been avoiding Axel all morning, and now that it was lunch time he'd had about enough of that and was hunting him down. All students were heading for the cafeteria right now, but Roxas wasn't dumb. And neither was Axel. Knowing the boy he'd go hide outside or something. Axel walked outside and scanned his surroundings for a moment, trying to spot a splash of yellow in the other wise white and green surroundings. When he found nothing he slowly walked around the school, so to make sure he didn't accidentally miss the boy, until he finally found the boy.<p>

He was sitting under a palm tree by the fence, head tilted up towards the sky but his eyes were closed, and his legs were pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around them. Axel hurried over to the boy, now getting a better look at him and the bruising under his eyes and around his nose. It wasn't too noticeable and had obviously been there for a while seeing as there wasn't much discoloration. He had big black headphones on with flames on the plastic of the speakers and he had a small soft smile on his face. He looked totally at peace for the moment, Axel didn't want to break that.

He knew he had to though.

So he took a seat beside the boy under the tree and placed a hand on his knee. The blond's eyes slowly opened and he looked at the sky for a moment before turning to look at the new presence. His eyes widened slightly, but he didn't seem all that surprised to see the red head. He probably figured the boy would come looking for him at some point anyways, and lunch was the easiest and most likely time other than the end of school. But Axel didn't ride the bus anymore, so it's not like they would've had much time to talk, unless he'd offered the blond a ride home. Though Roxas would most likely decline. It's not like he'd want to have this conversation in front of Reno anyways.

"Hey." Roxas said as he slid the headphones off his ears. Axel smiled at the boy and removed his hand from his knee, scratching the back of his head before placing it on the ground.

"How's it goin'?" Roxas simply shrugged and turned his gaze back to the sky. It was silent for a moment, the only noise being the near by cars driving down the road and the quiet hum of music from Roxas's headphones, before Axel spoke once more.

"Why have you been avoiding me all morning?" Axel asked and Roxas couldn't help but chuckle at how straight forward he was.

"Xigbar told me you saw that argument between my father and I on the porch last week and I wasn't really looking forward to the confrontation. I don't really deal all too well with that kind of stuff."

Axel bit the inside of his lip in thought for a moment as he nodded slightly in understanding.

"What happened to your face?" Roxas lowered his head slightly and swallowed.

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't notice that."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just let me know who did it so I can kick their ass." Axel said, looking over to the boy with a teasing smile on his face. Roxas chuckled and rested his head on Axel's shoulder. Though the other boy was mostly skin and bones, it was surprisingly comfortable, and Roxas couldn't help but think of how right this felt.

"How does the wall tickle ya?" Roxas replied with a smirk. Axel smiled, but he knew he wouldn't get an answer if he just let him dance around the question.

"Roxas."

"I'm a big boy Ax, I don't need you to go around beating up people just because they hit me. I can handle these things myself."

"Roxas, I see you and your father yelling at each other as I leave you then you don't come to school for a week. Now tell me, who did this? If you don't, I'm going to call the police and tell them he's abusing you." Axel said, voice stern as the smile slipped from his face and his brows pinched. Roxas bit his lip and lowered his eyes.

"It was Marluxia." He said, praying that Axel bought the lie.

"When?"

"Saturday. I hadn't been feeling well Friday, that's why I didn't come to school. Then Saturday I was out walking and we had a run in. I pissed him off and he punched me in the face." Roxas explained quietly. Axel narrowed his eyes slightly at the ground then sighed and wrapped his arm around Roxas's shoulders, resting his head atop the blond locks. Although he was suspicious, he wouldn't put it past Roxas to be able to rile Marluxia up. Especially with how their last run in went.

"I didn't want you to find out, so I didn't come to school until it was like this." Roxas pointed at the bruising to show what he meant. Axel nodded slightly and rubbed the boys shoulder.

"It's okay Roxas, I understand."

"You're not gonna go kick his ass now are you?" Axel chuckled and shrugged.

"Maybe. Do you want me too?" Roxas shook his head and scooted closer to Axel.

"Then I won't." He decided. Roxas smiled. He couldn't believe Axel actually bought it, but more so he couldn't believe that he wasn't going to go kill Marluxia just because he didn't want him to.

"Thank's Axel." Roxas said after a moment of silence.

"No problem kiddo." He said, smiling and kissing the boy on the top of his head.

"You wanna hang out with me and Demyx this weekend? We're going over his house." Axel asked after another long silence. Roxas thought for a moment, trying to figure out if he had to do anything over the weekend, then nodded.

"Yeah, sounds fun."

Axel smiled, happy he'd get to spend the weekend with the boy. Happy to just have this moment with him. He didn't even care that he hadn't had lunch and that his stomach felt like it was trying to eat itself. He didn't care about all the questions he had about his father. He still had his suspicions about the man, and he would try to talk to Roxas about it later, but for now he'd leave it. He just wanted to stay like this with him and not have to worry about anything going on in either of their lives. Or anything going on around them. So he did. They sat like that till the end of lunch, neither talking too much but instead, listening to Roxas' music quietly play for the most part. It was nice, and almost a shame when they had to get up and go to class, the only thing making it okay was that their next class was together.

* * *

><p><strong>*whistles* Damn, this is long. Oh God, I had a bit of a problem writing this chapter, the whole beginning there I had stopped several times and thought about if I really wanted to write that then when I finally decided I wrote this whole fucking different thing after Roxas got punched and I ended up erasing that and writing this. So, this has been a tiresome chapter. But, thanks to this chapter I have come up with a good amount of plot for later on and I'm happy. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, so much crazy shit going down. I'm gonna go kill over on my bed now and think through the next chapter a bit. I will see you all next chapter though. Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, I don't know anymore, I'm tired. Bye.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Demyx spun around as he opened the door to his house, throwing his arms out and grinning at Axel and Roxas.

"Welcome to my home!" He said cheerfully toward Roxas. Said blond looked around curiously for a moment, noting that the kitchen was directly to the right of the stair case. On the left was a small hallway and a doorway leading into the living room where he could see a long, plush couch and a flat screen tv hanging on the wall. In the hall way was what he believed was a small coat closet and a table next to the door with a small glass bowl on top with some keys in it.

"It's nice." Roxas said with a small nod.

"Thanks!" Demyx said as his grin widened.

"Do you want a tour or should we just skip the three rooms your allowed in and go up to Dem's room?" Axel said with a grin of his own, causing Demyx's to falter.

"Oh shut up Axel."

Roxas chuckled at the banter between the two boys.

"I think I'm good. I doubt we'll leave Demyx's room that much anyways."

"How right you are." Axel grinned and lead the boy up the stairs to Demyx's room. The door was slightly ajar, allowing Axel to just push it open the rest of the way and show Roxas the rest of the room. The bed was on the far right of the room near the closet and a window that was covered by a dark blue curtain. To the left, closer to the door, sat a desk with papers and books scattered across the top so that the wood couldn't be seen, and a small lamp. Next to that sat a green cup with a bunch of writing utensils inside and a small wooden box that was labeled "photo's". As he entered the room he found a couple large bean bag chairs set in front of a TV on a wood stand with a couple gaming systems inside and many games to go along with them. Hanging on the wall near all that was a large blue sitar and on the floor below that was a couple stands in which an acoustic and electric guitar sat. The acoustic guitar had a couple stickers on it of various symbols, one he recognized from one of his shirts. The electric guitar was black with skinny white stripes on it. All the instruments (especially the sitar) appeared to be in very good condition and were obviously very well taken care of.

"You didn't tell me you play the sitar." Roxas said with a small smile and a raised brow. Demyx looked over to his sitar for a moment then smiled at Roxas.

"Oh, yeah. I've played since I was nine. I've had her so much longer though." Demyx said, a fond smile working onto his face as he thought back to when he first received the precious instrument.

"When did you get it?" Roxas asked curiously.

"'Her', not 'it'." Demyx quickly corrected. "And I've had her since I was five. My parents brought me to a music store and she was hanging up on the wall. I asked for her for my birthday, told my parents that if I could have her I wouldn't need anything else, so they bought her for me. I wasn't allowed to actually play her till I was nine though."

"That's a lovely story Dem, always love to hear it." Axel said, a bit sarcastically, as he plopped down in one of the bean bag chairs. Demyx looked at Axel with a slight pout then stuck his tongue out at the red head.

"You're just jealous because you don't have anything as cool as Arpeggio!" Axel laughed at this for a moment, as if it were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard then smiled cheekily up at his blond friend.

"How could I ever be jealous of that when I have someone as cool as Roxas." Axel gestured to the boy as his eyes widened and his cheeks turned a bit pink. He quickly looked down to hide his new found blush. Demyx rolled his eyes, but smiled none the less at the comment as he sat in the other bean bag.

"Whatever you say, Axel."

"Damn straight." He said with a triumphant grin. As he looked over Roxas though, that grin quickly changed from one of victory to one of mischief. He sat forward in the bean bag, enough to be able to reach out for Roxas and grab his hand. When he sat back in the bean bag once more he pulled Roxas, causing the boy to stumble and fall into his lap.

"Hey cutie." He said with a cheeky grin. Roxas blinked in surprise for a moment before his blush darkened and he scooted out of the red head's lap and onto the floor.

"Aw Roxy, there's enough room up here for two."

"No." Roxas said, bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them as he sat beside the chair. Axel pouted and sat forward in his seat once more, resting his chin on Roxas's shoulder so the boy could see him from the corner of his eye.

"I don't want you to sit on the floor. Please come sit with me?" He said, pouting his lip out a bit more. Demyx couldn't help but grin at the scene before him. Roxas sighed and shook his head at the other boy.

"Please~?" Axel pleaded, giving the blond his best puppy dog eyes. Roxas hunched over slightly, trying to not look at the red head. He knew he would lose the minute he looked at that face, he always did have a soft spot for that kind of stuff when he'd been dating Xigbar. Though, the older boy rarely used it to get his way.

"I'll be a good boy. I promise." Axel said, earning a snicker from Demyx and a grin from Roxas. Axel scooted forward a bit more and turned his head so he was looking at his counterpart.

"Roxy~." He sang in a slightly higher pitch. Roxas looked at him from the corner of his eye and saw the full on pout and puppy eyes. He dropped his head, knowing that he'd been defeated.

"Fine." He said with a sigh. Axel sat back at his victory, grinning as he raised a fist in triumph. Roxas quietly chuckled and moved from his spot on the floor so he was now right beside the red head in the bean bag, his arm pressed against Axel's side as he wrapped his arm around Roxas's waist. Demyx laughed, foreseeing his friend's victory, but still highly amused by it.

* * *

><p>Roxas was laying on a pull out futon with Axel beside him and Demyx up on his bed. The room was completely dark, save for the dim glow of streetlights through Demyx's curtains. Axel was right beside Roxas, arm slung over his waist and the red head's warm breath puffing against his cheek. Originally Axel had been opposed to going to bed, insisting they stay up all three days (this is including Monday) on energy drinks and coffee. This was, however, till Roxas told him that they could sleep in the same bed. Axel had thought about this for all of ten seconds before agreeing. Roxas was now left as the only one awake, Demyx falling asleep about fifteen minutes after they had gotten in bed, and after Axel had stopped talking and his breath came steadier Roxas had assumed he was asleep. Roxas was kind of pissed now though and regretting the decision to go to bed. He had been tired, but now that he was in bed he couldn't seem to get to sleep, and it was utterly aggravating. He couldn't figure out what the problem was either. So now, he was stuck here staring at the ceiling as he got lost in his thoughts, ranging all from internally bitching about his current situation to thinking about the red head that currently occupied the space beside him.<p>

With a quiet sigh he turned his head to look at the sleeping boy. Though when he did he saw a slight shine in the dim lighting that strongly reminded him that of a cats eyes. He blinked in surprise then furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Are you awake?" He whispered, so as to not wake Demyx. He heard a quiet chuckle beside him then felt the hand move from his waist. He watched the silhouette of his hand reach up to his hair and run through it.

"No, I'm asleep." Axel said sarcastically as he placed the hand back on Roxas's waist. Roxas couldn't help but smile a bit at the boy.

"Can I ask you something?" Axel asked after a moment of silence. Roxas stared at his dimly glowing eyes then nodded slightly before realizing that Axel couldn't see him.

"Yeah."

"Why do you hate your dad?"

Roxas's eyes widened slightly and he completely froze. That he wasn't expecting. He'd thought Axel had gotten over the thing with his father yesterday.

"It's personal." He answered quietly.

"Roxas, you know so much about me, but I barely know anything about you. I just know you love your mother and hate your father. I haven't even met your parents-"

"My dad doesn't approve of me being homosexual." Roxas said, cutting off the red head. Axel blinked in surprise. All he could manage to get out was a quiet 'oh' at the other's words. Roxas took a deep breath before he spoke up once more.

"Look, I know I haven't told you much about me, but I'm kind of a private person. I don't like to share things with people too fast. But my issues with my Father extend farther than his disapproval and it's not something I like to talk about, even when I was with Xigbar, he didn't know till the end. He's the only person I ever talked to about him though. I will tell you everything eventually Axel, but right now... I'm just not ready. Can you please be patient with me?"

Axel stared at the blond's dark form. He understood that the boy might need more time, he was prepared for that when he'd decided to bring up his father again, though he didn't imagine it would feel this aggravating to wait for an answer.

"I have two more questions." Axel said. After all, he was still curious about what had happened a week ago on the boy's porch.

"Okay."

"Does your father drink?"

"Yes." He said after a moments hesitation.

"What happened, really happened last week on your porch with your father?" Axel felt Roxas tense under his hand at this question. The blond took a breath and as he let it out Axel felt him relax once more.

"He was pissed because I didn't come home right after school."

It was quiet once more after this, and stayed that way for a while. The only noise was the sound of their breathing and the soft snoring coming from Demyx. They didn't even move, and if it weren't for the soft glow of Axel's eyes in the dark, Roxas would have thought he went back to sleep. After some time though Axel finally moved, stretching slightly, and placing a kiss between Roxas's brows.

"Goodnight Roxas." He said, curling into Roxas' side slightly and tightening his grip a bit on the boy's waist. Roxas sat there in surprise for a moment, mostly at the fact of how quickly their conversation just ended. He smiled slightly though and pressed his forehead to Axel's.

"'Night Axel." He said quietly.

* * *

><p><strong>Shorty chapters be short Xl I really just wanted to write a bit of the week end at Demyx's house, not too much (don't you just love fillers :D). Especially since I can't think of too much going down while they're there. But I thought of some thing really cool today and I wanted to get to it in one of the next three chapters, not sure which one. But I'm excited about it, and I think you guys are really gonna like it! So yeah, be excited for awesome! I love you guys, I'll see you next chapter! G'night, good morning, afternoon, evening, whatever. I'm out!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

It was Monday now, and some how Axel had talked Roxas and Demyx into staying up all night. It was probably mostly because they hadn't done any of their homework, but Axel could be pretty damn persuasive. He would make a fantastic sales man. Blowing all the competition out of the water. Roxas could see it now. Hair pulled back in a pony tail, wearing a button up shirt and blazer with a nice tie and black pants to match. Come to think of it... Axel would look damn good in a suit.

Scratch that, he'd look fucking HOT!

Roxas wouldn't mind seeing that so much. Especially above him on a bed, slowly striping... He'd rip out that damnable hair tie, allowing the red head's hair to fall around his shoulders once more. Then he'd unbutton his shirt to reveal his thin but muscular and oh so perfect-

"Mr. Osment!" The teacher, Mr. Thornton yelled, snapping the boy out of his day dream. He looked up at the teacher with a mix of curiosity and bewilderment. He'd completely forgotten he was even in school.

"Yes sir?" He asked a bit quietly.

"Is there something the matter?" Roxas looked oddly at the older man.

"No sir, why do you ask?"

"Well, you were making... Obscene noises." Roxas's eyes widened slightly and he felt a small blush come to his cheeks as some of the class started to quietly laugh at the blond.

"I apologize sir. It won't happen again." The man looked at him suspiciously then nodded.

"I'll hold you to that Mr. Osment." The blue haired man said, turning his back on Roxas and concentrating on the lesson once more. Roxas lowered his head and bit his lip in embarrassment. He honestly couldn't believe that just happened. And with Axel right next to him no less!

With that thought in mind, Roxas turned his head slightly and looked at the red head from the corner of his eye. His eyes were a bit wider than usual and he was biting his index finger. Though the weirdest thing right now, was that Axel had a slight blush of his own.

Oh God. What if he knew that Roxas was thinking about something sexual? Roxas might die.

* * *

><p>Due to his lack of sleep and just general lazyness, Roxas had missed the bus. He'd been walking slowly out of the school with Demyx, who was getting a ride home from his mother, and noticed the buses pulling away as he was half way across the parking lot. Demyx had pointed it out, but Roxas had just shrugged it off with a sigh. There was nothing he could do about it right? It would be pointless to chase after them or anything, it's not like they were going to stop. So he'd just walk. It wasn't a big deal. He'd only get slightly scolded and a slap to the back of the head for being a bit later than normal. Demyx had offered him a ride home, but Roxas had shook his head at the blond, telling him he could walk and that it wasn't that far. The boy had been a bit wary, but didn't fight him on this decision then soon left after that to go home himself. So now, here he stood, tired, irritated, and feeling like shit in the school parking lot, slowly walking towards home. God, he could feel a headache coming on.<p>

"Roxas!" Axel said, right behind the boy. Roxas jumped and looked behind him at Axel with half lidded eyes. The boy was grinning, which Roxas couldn't understand at all. How was he not as tired as him and Demyx. Not only had they stayed up all night, but it had been a long fucking day filled with bull shittery from Larxene and her posse. Some how though, the red head still seemed as energetic as ever.

"Hey Axel." Roxas said, rubbing a hand across his face and yawning.

"Tired?" Roxas looked deadpan at the other boy.

"What was your first clue?" He asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Axel grinned.

"Oh maybe the bags under your eyes." He started rummaging through his bag as they continued to walk at the blond's slow pace.

"Here, drink this." Axel held up an energy drink to the boy. Roxas simply stared at it before Axel finally sighed and shoved it into his hands. Roxas slowly opened the can and took a sip, savoring the sweet flavor.

"Thanks." He said quietly with another yawn. "So where's Reno? Doesn't he drive you home now?"

Axel reached to the back of his head and scratched it slightly.

"Yeah well, him Zack and Cloud are gonna be out for a while and I just wanted to go home. We've had a pretty long day, and I just wanted to rest. So I told him I'd walk home today. Didn't think I'd see you along the way though. Miss the bus?"

"By like two minutes." Roxas said with a sigh.

"Damn, that sucks man. Well, at least we can walk home together." Axel said with a reassuring smile. Now that Roxas was beginning to feel a bit more energetic, thanks to the sweet drink he returned the smile a bit.

"So, what was up with you in Thornton's class today?" Axel asked after a short moment of silence. Roxas felt his blush from earlier come back to his cheeks at the memory of not only the class but what he'd been thinking about. Honestly, he'd been hoping Axel would just forget about it and he wouldn't have to think about it again.

"N-nothing, just got day dreaming a bit, that's all." Roxas said, turning away slightly and speeding up a bit so the red head couldn't see his blush.

"Day dreaming huh?" Axel said thoughtfully. Roxas looked curiously at his companion. Axel leaned over to the blond's ear with an evil, teasing smirk.

"Do you dream about me often?"

Roxas's eyes widened and he felt his cheeks become much warmer. He quickly whipped his head around to look at the red head.

"H-how do you know it was about you?" He asked worriedly. Axel's smirk widened to a grin.

"You kinda whispered my name about a minute or two before you groaned and got in trouble. Thought you were talking to me for a minute, but you had kind of a far off look on your face."

It took a minute for Roxas to fully process this information, but when he did all color drained from his face and he felt as though his eyes were as wide as saucers by now. He'd said Axel's name? And... Groaned? Oh God, could this be worse?

"It's okay, Sora and I were the only ones that heard it." Yup, just got worse.

Sora hadn't even said anything to him about it! And he'd had plenty of opportunities!

"Oh God." Roxas groaned, covering his face with his hands. Axel chuckled and wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders in comfort.

"It's okay Roxy, Sora won't tell anyone."

"How do you know?"

"He told me so." Axel said with a big smile. Roxas stared at him for a moment then sighed and dropped his head.

"Whatever. I guess it's better than Larxene or Kairi."

"Yeah! There's looking on the bright side!" Axel said cheerfully. Roxas still didn't understand how he was so freaking energetic.

It was silent for a while after that, and Roxas didn't mind it so much. He liked these comfortable silences with the red head. It felt like old times with Xigbar. Being so comfortable with one another that neither of you needed to talk, you were just content being in one another's company. Though, after a while Axel did finally break the silence with another question. This one much worse than the last.

"So do I get to meet your parents this time around?" Roxas's eyes widened once more and he looked at Axel, completely taken aback. Axel, however, just looked expectantly at the blond.

"Um... I... I don't know. I wasn't really... planning on it." Roxas said quietly, looking down at his feet. He did want Axel to meet his mother, but his father? No way. Not happening. He wanted to keep Axel as far away from that man as possible. If they did meet, Axel would just bring up his father more often, trying to figure out their relationship. Or worse, if he beat Roxas.

"Well, I'd make that decision quick Blondie." Axel said quietly, right in his ear. Roxas's head snapped up and he noticed that his house was just two away from them, and how soon they'd be there. He could see his father's car in the drive way. His heart was starting to pick up with every step he took and his face tingled slightly as the color drained from it. What if Axel insisted on meeting his parents? He couldn't think of any excuses to tell the red head as to why he couldn't meet his parents. What if his father came to the door as he had the last time and Axel hadn't left yet? His father still man handled him, even around other people. But no one had ever thought that he beat Roxas, just that he was upset with the blond and was properly punishing him. Pfft, yeah right. His punishment was never proper and it most definitely wasn't just.

"Roxas!" Axel said, snapping his fingers in front of the blond to gain his attention. Roxas quickly snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the red head before him.

"We're here." Roxas looked around him and indeed they were right outside his front door. How had he not noticed this?

"O-oh. T-thanks for um... Walking me home." He said, smiling awkwardly at the other boy. Axel looked at him suspiciously, but didn't question him as Roxas knew he wanted to.

"No problem."

Roxas reached into his pocket for his key, but soon found it wasn't there. His eyes widened again, for what felt like the millionth time today, and he frantically searched his pockets, before remembering that he'd forgotten it on Friday. He'd simply shrugged it off at the time, figuring he didn't need it anyways since he was going over Demyx's house for the weekend. He hadn't thought at all about not having it for Monday when he'd be coming home.

He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip as he balled his hands into tight fists. He slowly raised his right hand and knocked on the door, praying to God that his father didn't answer it. Of course, he wasn't that lucky though right?

He listened as he heard footsteps quickly approaching the door. His eye brows were pinched together in worry and his eyes still closed. He was biting both his lips together now and he swore that his heart was beating so loud Axel could hear it. He also swore that he could feel Axel's eyes trained on him and could just imagine how oddly he was looking at him. Finally the door opened though and he took a deep breath as he slowly raised his head and opened his eyes.

"Roxas, sweetie, your home!" His mother said happily. Roxas let out a sigh of relief at the sight of his beautiful mother. His heart was still beating quite fast, but it was slowly calming as his whole body relaxed.

"Oh, who's this?" She asked, looking curiously at Axel. Roxas looked over to the red head, slightly forgetting his presence upon seeing his mother.

"This is my friend Axel. He's the guy I told you about the first week of school." Roxas said, blushing slightly as he remembered he hadn't exactly shared with the red head that he spoke about him to anyone. Axel smiled immediately and held out his hand for the woman to shake.

"It's nice to finally meet you ma'am. Roxas speaks quite fondly of you." He said smoothly. The woman blinked in surprise then smiled and shook Axel's hand as a blush of her own came to her cheeks.

"Oh, aren't you just the sweetest thing. I'm glad to meet you though, Roxas has told me so much about you."

Axel glanced briefly at Roxas, his smile turning a bit devious, and Roxas couldn't help but look away in embarrassment.

"Would you like to come in for a bit dear? I would love to get to know my baby's friend a bit more." She said happily, moving aside slightly to allow Axel in if he accepted the offer. Axel looked at Roxas, who was currently looking at him from the corner of his eye.

"Well, I would love to. But I get the feeling Roxas might not be too happy about that." Axel said, unthinkingly.

"Oh don't be silly! Roxas won't mind, will you dear? She asked, looking expectantly at her son. Roxas stared at her for a moment, as if he was surprised he'd even been brought into the conversation then slowly shook his head.

"See? Come on in sweetie, I'll make you a cup of tea." She ushered Axel and Roxas into the house and lead the two boys to the kitchen. On the way Roxas noticed his father in the living room, watching him suspiciously as he passed by. He took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh as he turned his attention away from the man. When they walked into the kitchen, Roxas's mother immediately told them to sit as she placed milk and sugar on the table then busied herself with putting some water in a kettle and setting it on the stove top.

_"I'm so sorry."_ Axel mouthed to Roxas when the blond looked at him. Roxas shook his head and smiled at him.

_"Don't worry about it."_ He mouthed back. Though he knew he was when Axel slouched in his seat and looked at the table with an unreadable expression.

"So, tell me all about yourself." Roxas's mother said as she sat in the seat across from Axel, causing said red head to immediately straighten in his chair. She leaned forward enough so she could sit her elbows on the table top and rest her chin on her crossed fingers, her smile still ever present. Axel glanced at Roxas then smiled sheepishly at his mother as he fed her a bunch of information about himself. He told her how old he was, how he lived with his mother and Reno, that his father had died when he was younger, and anything else he could think of that wasn't too personal. She had watched him intently the whole time, only stopping when she got up to get the kettle and pour the boiling water into three mugs.

Everything had been going fine, they'd been talking for about a half hour without incident. But, you remember Roxas's luck that we spoke of earlier? Yeah, that just ran out.

He'd heard the slight creak of the couch, then the foot steps slowly getting louder as they made their way from the living room and down the short hallway. Roxas immediately tensed, his eyes widening and his grip on his mug tightening. He noticed Axel glance at him from the corner of his eye, but not faltering in his story about one of their weekend sleep overs. His eyes were full of worry now. His mother was still listening intently to the boy, not even noticing the sounds of her husband quickly approaching. Suddenly the footsteps stopped, and Roxas's breath caught in his throat.

"Kate, what the hell are you doing in here?" The man slurred, just a few feet away from Roxas. Axel stopped talking and looked up at the man as Kate's head snapped up in surprise. Roxas, however, couldn't bear to look at the man. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he did.

"Oh honey, I was just talking to Roxas's friend from school. He walked him home." She said with a happy smile, though her eyebrows furrowed and showed that it was just forced. The man looked at Axel and narrowed his eyes. Axel blinked a couple times, trying to think of what to do again before standing and walking over to the man. He smiled charmingly and held out his hand to the man.

"I'm Axel Flynn. It's nice to meet you sir." Roxas slowly turned in his seat to see what would happen. His eyes were still wide and his face paler than when he'd knocked on the door upon finding he didn't have his key with him. The man looked between the offered hand and the red head's smiling face for a moment then ever so slowly he brought his hand up and firmly grasped Axel's hand in his.

"Jacob Osment." He said, shaking Axel's hand. Suddenly though, his eyes zeroed in on Roxas.

"Son, can I speak with you for a minute?" He asked slowly as he stopped shaking Axel's hand. His eyes widened more, if at all possible, and he took a shaky breath. Axel looked at him worriedly as he slowly stood from his chair. His legs were a bit wobbly, making it slightly difficult, but he didn't want to show fear to this man. So with a deep breath he steeled his expression and balled his hands into fists. He willed away the wobble in his legs and followed the man out of the kitchen and into the living room, leaving Axel and his mother to talk. At least she was safe, right?

* * *

><p>Axel stood by the door way, watching the spot where Roxas had sat moments ago.<p>

"Don't worry about them sweetie, Roxas will be alright. It's not like my husbands going to hurt him or anything." Kate said, trying to sound reassuring. Though there was a bit of an off tone in her voice as she said this, and the look on her face completely betrayed her attempt at reassurance.

"Please, come sit back down and keep telling me that story." She said, patting the table in front of Axel's chair. He, of course, did as he was told. But Kate could tell that he was distracted. He kept looking at the door way and was pausing in what he was saying to try and listen to Roxas and his father talk in the other room.

"Axel, sweetie?" She said kindly, bringing the red head's attention back to her once more.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry." He said, looking back at her. She smiled and shook her head at the boy.

"It's quite alright dear. I can tell you care a lot about Roxas." Axel blinked in surprise but smiled and nodded.

"Yeah."

"I'm glad. My son thought he was going to have a hard time moving here, especially after his break up with Xigbar. I was worried about him. But his very first day he came home and was telling me all about you. Said he didn't know your name, but described all your features and told me about how you had 'bothered' him all day. I was very happy to know he'd made a friend so fast. So, it's nice to see how much you care for my baby. And now, I know he's in safe hands." She said, smiling happily at Axel, a genuine smile. Axel stared at her for a moment, taking in how beautiful she looked. Her blue eyes sparkled like the night, just like Roxas's. Everything about this woman just screamed Roxas at him, and Axel could tell where Roxas got most of his looks.

"Thank you for taking care of my baby, Axel." She said, reaching across the table and placing her hand over Axel's.

"It's no problem ma'am." Axel said, a bit quietly as a smile slowly worked onto his own face.

"So, are you dating my baby?" She asked suddenly, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Mom!" Roxas said, embarrassedly, upon reentering the room. She jumped slightly then laughed, placing a hand over her chest as she did so.

"Well Roxas, I have a right to know." She said, smiling up at her son, her eyes shining beautifully. Something Roxas hadn't seen in a long time.

"Roxas," Axel started in a motherly tone. "I can't believe you. Not telling your mother about us. Shame shame."

"Oh shush." Roxas said, pouting as he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh~, isn't he just the cutest when he gets all pouty." Kate said, clasping her hands together and looking to Axel for conformation. Axel grinned and nodded in agreement.

"Quite. Just like a little puppy. He could break hearts with that face." Kate laughed and soon enough the conversation had completely turned to Roxas and his 'adorable' habits and expressions. It didn't take long though for his mother to start telling stories of his childhood though, and by that point, Roxas just wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

Another half hour passed though before Axel finally stood and told them he had to go.

"Thank you very much for the tea Kate. And thank you for having me for a little while. It really was a pleasure to get to talk to you." Axel said kindly as he stood at the front door with Roxas and Kate, preparing to leave.

"Oh no, the pleasure was mine sweetie. And you are welcome over any time you like."

"Thank you so much. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Roxas." Axel pulled the blond into a one armed hug and Roxas couldn't help but smile and wrap an arm around the red head's waist. He rested his head against Axel's shoulder till he pulled away.

"Bye Axel." Said male smiled and winked at Roxas then exited the house, waving as he started down the side walk.

"I like him, Roxas. He's a sweet boy." Kate said as she closed the door. Roxas smiled fondly and lowered his gaze to the floor.

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

><p><strong>Hell yeah! Writing chapters in one night! Feels good man, it feels good! I hope you enjoyed this one. Yay Axel finally met the parents! Super duper happiness here, how about you?! Right, so... I'll see you guys later! Cause it's like 5 am and I need to go to sleep now. So goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening. I love you all! Buh bye!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**You know what I'd like right now? A really good RikuRoku fanfic. Yeah. That would be nice... Dammit all.**

* * *

><p>Roxas stalked up to his bed room, having just received a huge lecture about uninvited guests and being home late once again, then a thorough beating. Would Roxas ever do anything right in that mans eyes?<p>

The answer was no. A very painfully cold, stab to the chest, no. He'd never accept Roxas, just as he'd never stop drinking.

So with a sigh, Roxas quietly closed his door, so he wouldn't get more shit about being too loud, then slipped into his bathroom. He opened one of the draws on his sink and pulled out his bottle of pain relievers. He didn't open them yet though. He walked back into his room and sat down on his bed, crawling over to the far corner and curling into a ball. He turned the pills over in his hands several times, staring at the small container and listening to them quietly rattle inside the plastic as the bottle turned. He looked out the window, first seeing the leaves of the tree outside his window then the clear blue sky. He slowly brought his gaze to the street in front of his house and saw a couple cars drive by, at a speed he knew wasn't legal for the area. There was a woman across the street, walking her two dogs and typing something into her small phone.

Then, there was a couple. Walking slowly by his house. They were holding hands and the girl was swinging them back and forth as she kicked her legs out in long strides. She was smiling at the sky as she spoke with the boy, who was looking at her fondly, as if she was the most beautiful person on the face of the planet. Honestly, they seemed like they could spend the rest of their lives together.

Roxas's grip on the plastic container tightened and he pressed his lips together in a thin line. With a sigh, he quickly opened the bottle and poured out four pills into his hand. He swallowed each one dry then rested his head against the back board, running a hand through his hair.

* * *

><p>Axel walked down the street slowly, hands shoved in his pockets and kicking random pebbles on the side walk. He'd left Roxas's house about ten minutes ago, and honestly, he wasn't enjoying the walk home as much as he thought he would. He thought he'd be glad to be left alone with his thoughts, but all he could think about was the exchange between Roxas and his father.<p>

He'd seen how tense the blond had gotten moments before the man came into the kitchen, and, even though he was sure Roxas was trying to hide it, how frightened he looked. He'd seen him shaking when he followed his father out of the room, then there was their "talk". Even though the man was obviously trying to keep his voice down, Axel had still been able to hear him, the way he spoke to Roxas. The only time Roxas had said anything back to the man through the whole thing was when he asked him a question. A sickening one too. That question was when Axel completely trailed off in the middle of his story to Kate.

_"Do I need to beat you_ again_ to get it in your fucking head?"_

The mans voice still echoed in his head. He felt physically sick when he heard him utter those words, and he wanted to go in there and punch the older man, protect the young blond from his torment.

Axel completely stopped walking, clenching his hands into fists at his side and lowering his head. His shoulders were tense, his knuckles white and he squeezed his eyes so tightly shut that his eye balls were starting to hurt from the pressure. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this pissed. Not even Larxene had been able to cause this much anger in the red head. He just...

He needed to burn something.

Now.

His eyes snapped open and he glared at nothing in particular as he started sprinting for his house. His mother wouldn't be home for another hour, and Reno? God only knew when he'd get home, but it wouldn't be anytime soon.

He made it home in about eight minutes and quickly opened his front door. He rummaged around his room for a few minutes, finding things he didn't care about or didn't need anymore and carrying them to his back yard, grabbing a large pot and matches on the way out. He set the pot before him in the middle of the yard and quickly started a fire with a couple pieces of paper, randomly throwing in old school pictures some pencils and even a shitty sweater he'd gotten from Demyx as a joke. These were only a couple of the things he burned though.

He sat down in front of the pot, watching the flames dance around inside the metal and quickly turn everything to ashes. He was content, completely mesmerized by the flames. That was until a neighbor started to yell at him.

"Hey! You shouldn't be starting fires!" The woman yelled over the fence. Axel sighed and turned to glare at the nosy woman. What business was it of hers anyway? It's not like this was her house, he wasn't in her back yard starting a fire! And it's not like it was dangerous. It was a controlled fire and there was a hose not ten feet from him.

"I don't see how it's any of your business!" He yelled at the woman, pissed that she ruined his peaceful moment. He'd just been calming down too.

"Don't you speak to me like that!" She yelled back. Axel growled and got off the ground, placing his hands on his hips and giving her his meanest glare.

"You're not my mother lady, so why don't you go back in your house and mind your own damn business!"

"Axel!" Said boy groaned and he felt the immense urge to punch someone in the face (odds were leaning towards Roxas's father) as he heard his mother's scolding voice.

"I am so sorry ma'am, please excuse him. He's normally not this rude." She said kindly to the woman then turned to look at Axel. The woman seemed to just accept this, nodding and backing away from the fence, going back to her business, but listening intently to what the woman had to say next.

"Axel Flynn you put out that fire this minute and get your butt back in this house right now!" His mother hissed, stomping her high heeled foot on the ground. Axel sighed, running a hand through his hair and tightly gripping the back in irritation.

"I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't start a fire on the ground, I used a pot! And that lady had no business sticking her big ass nose in my business! She shouldn't even be worried about what I'm doing!" Axel said, waving his hand in the neighbors direction and glaring at her as he spoke.

"Don't you argue with me! Now put out that fire!" Axel growled, but walked over to the hose and turned it on, watching as water started to rumble through the long tube and flow out the open end. He swiftly picked it up and walked over to the fire, still glaring at the woman as he doused the beautiful flames. The fire was out quick, just leaving the pot with ashes and not yet completely burned items, floating around in a pool of water. He then dropped the hose and walked over to the gate. His mother looked at him oddly for a moment then as he opened the door she started yelling at him, finally realizing what her son was doing. The woman looked over the gate in interest again and Axel grinned at the lady then flipped her off. The woman's eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the red heads action. He then shut the gate behind him and ran down the ally, his mother still yelling at him to come back.

He knew he'd be in so much shit when he got back, but right now he didn't care. In fact, the only thing he did care about at this moment was Roxas. The blond was all he could think about. All he was really worried about right now. And it was totally worth it anyways. Because he escaped with the matches.

* * *

><p>"Well well, lookie here! If it isn't my favorite little flamers!" A high pitched feminine voice, that Roxas had come to know as the obnoxious voice of Larxene, said from behind the three boys. Roxas sighed as Demyx groaned and hit his head against his desk. Axel on the other hand turned around with a wide grin spread across his face and flung his arm over the chair.<p>

"Oh Larxene, you finally know about Marluxia and Vexen?" He said cheekily. Vexen and Larxene scowled at the grinning red head, but Marluxia seemed far more interested in his nails than trying to defend his sexuality. It's not like everyone didn't know about him any way. He was the biggest homosexual in the school, though Larxene insisted that he was bi. Axel, however, liked to consider him the type to fuck everything under the sun.

"Those jokes are getting old Axel." Larxene hissed between clenched teeth as she crossed her arms.

"Just like Vexen!" The red head's grin widened as he winked at Vexen. The blond was very obviously insulted by this, sputtering as he searched for some kind of retort.

"Marly, you really got a thing for old dudes don't you?" Axel asked as he turned back towards the front of the class, waving his hand over his shoulder. Honestly, sometimes it seemed like it was way too easy for Axel to insult them. Vexen was older than them all by two years, and not to mention the fact that the boy was so into his science experiments that he stayed up late every night, leaving bags under his eyes and making him always look tired. These two features only helped him to look older than he actually was. Then there was the frown lines and wrinkles in his forehead. Seriously, Axel couldn't remember ever seeing him smile. Not once.

Him and Marluxia were obviously a thing, but Larxene was either oblivious to this or she just didn't want to accept the fact so she insisted he wasn't and ignored all comments about it. But even with their relationship, Vexen scolded Marluxia a lot, making them seem more like mother and daughter than anything.

"Axel, Axel, Axel. When will you learn?" Larxene said, shaking her head as she placed her hands on her hips. Axel snorted and looked over his shoulder at the blonde.

"Learn what? How oblivious you are to your girlfriend cheating on you?" Larxene's eyes narrowed at the red head, but she continued to smile sadistically at him regardless. Marluxia's head shot up at this comment though and he looked indignantly at Axel, as if he was actually lying about him cheating on Larxene.

"No, that you can't get under our skin. Unlike us of course." She said, taking a couple steps, passing Roxas and running her fingers across his back. Roxas shivered in disgust at the contact. Axel watched her closely, eyes narrowed and tightly gripping the desk in one hand.

"We know just the right buttons to _push._" She grabbed Roxas's face in one hand and turned his head so he was looking at her. Roxas glared at her for a moment before removing her hand from his face and throwing it away from him.

"Fuck off Larxene." Roxas growled out and turned away from the girl.

"Temper temper Roxy." She tsked. Suddenly the bell rang, startling everyone, mostly Vexen since he was supposed to be in the high school. The blond quickly checked his watch then hurried out of the class room, only saying goodbye to Marluxia.

Axel and Roxas looked around the class room, noticing they had an audience of students, watching their spat with Larxene. Roxas blushed slightly and sunk down in his seat, looking at Axel from the corner of his eye, who seemed to just shrug it off.

Larxene huffed and rolled her eyes, stepping away from Roxas.

"Catch you later _fags_." She said as she walked out of the classroom, Marluxia following close behind.

* * *

><p>Roxas sat up in his bed room once again, knife beside him on his bed, having been recently used, and pills sitting on the window sill. Opened. He was staring out his window, but not really paying attention to anything outside of it. In fact, his vision was a blur right now. Not from tears though, just because he was staring off into space for so long. It had been two weeks since Axel had met his parents. Two. Long. Weeks.<p>

They were long because for that time Axel had been grounded, the only time he was allowed out was for school. Roxas and Demyx had tried to get him to tell them what he did to get grounded, but the red head just brushed them off and told them it was nothing. Both boys knew that was lie of course, but if Axel didn't want to tell them he wasn't going to tell them. That was something Roxas found kind of aggravating about the other boy. He wouldn't talk to you about something if he didn't want to, no matter what you said to him. Demyx even told Roxas that he tried blackmailing him once, but Axel had just laughed and told Demyx to go ahead. Though, there was one person who could get Axel to talk. That was Reno. See, even though they were getting along he still knew how to push Axel's buttons and get him to talk even if he didn't want to. The boy was a master at pissing off his brother. Neither of them had been to talk to the older red head though because Axel was spending as much time with them as possible since he wasn't going to be able to hang out with them outside of school for so long. In other words, never leaving them with a minute alone.

He was really curious about what Axel had done though. He had told them that he got grounded the day that he'd met Roxas's parents. He'd even been in a pretty pissy mood that next morning, not even bothering with Larxene when she'd come to "talk" to them. He'd just snapped at her, telling her to fuck off, and surprisingly enough, she did. He guessed even she knew not to fuck with a pissed off Axel. Demyx couldn't understand it at all. He told Roxas that Axel was never this upset about getting grounded before, so all the blonds could figure was that he was upset about something else. His mood didn't last too long though. In just two days the red head was back to being himself.

Roxas was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as he watch something fly past him from the corner of his eye. He looked over curiously as the object bounced a bit then rolled to a stop on his floor.

A rock?

He heard something hit his window and jumped slightly, turning to look at the glass. He peered down at his lawn and found Axel standing there, grinning and waving at Roxas like an idiot. He got on his knees and quickly opened the window the rest of the way, leaning out slightly to look at the other boy.

"What are you doing here?" Roxas asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Kidnapping you." He said with a devious smirk.

"Why couldn't you just knock on the door like a normal person?"

"I did, your dad told me you weren't home then shut the door in my face." He pouted at the blond, and Roxas couldn't help but think how adorable he looked.

"Then my dad doesn't want me to leave." Honestly, he didn't care if that bastard didn't want him leaving the house. He just wanted to tease Axel a bit.

"So what? You don't even like your dad. Besides, like I said; I'm kidnapping you. You don't have a choice." He said, stretching his arms above his head before placing them behind his head, tilting his upper body back a bit and to the left as he crossed his right leg behind his left. Roxas chuckled and rested his head in his hand.

"Really? And how exactly will you do this if you can't get through my front door?" He questioned, raising a brow to the red head. Axel slowly turned his head and looked at the tree next to him then right back at Roxas. The thing was close enough for him to get into the house through his window and there was definitely enough low branches for him to climb.

Roxas smiled and shook his head.

"Alright, but how am I supposed to get out of here? I can't walk right out the door, my dad will notice. And I can't really reach the tree." That wasn't really a lie. His arms and legs really were too short to reach the tree. He could reach it if he jumped, but there was no way in hell that was happening. If he missed he was screwed. Axel looked around for a moment then looked at Roxas with a smile.

"I'll catch you." He said.

... What?

He'd... Catch him?

No way, not gonna happen. He was not going to just jump out his fucking window and leave it up to Axel to catch him. Sure, he trusted the other boy. But what he didn't trust was gravity or that he might over jump.

"Look, all you have to do is just sit on the edge of the window sill then slide off. I'll catch you, I promise."

"I don't have any doubt in you, but gravity is a bitch and the ground hurts like a mother fucker." Axel sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Roxas, don't worry. I've done this plenty of times. It will be fine if you just do what I say."

Roxas raised a brow at the other boy.

"You've done this before?"

"Look, you can ask questions later. Now am I gonna have to climb the tree and force you out or are you gonna jump and trust that I'll catch you?" Axel said, placing his hands on his hips and looking up at the boy in irritation.

Roxas looked between Axel and the tree for a moment then sighed.

"I guess I'll jump." He said. Axel nodded and moved closer to the window.

"Now, just sit on the edge like I told you and slide out. Make sure you lean forward a bit too, other wise your just going to hit your back and head against the window sill." Roxas nodded and slipped his legs out the window, ducking his head as he moved the rest of his body out the window. He looked down at Axel, feeling a wave of vertigo hit him. He held tightly onto the window sill and squeezed his eyes shut as he leaned forward a bit like Axel had told him to do. He took a deep breath then slowly let go of the window sill and slid off the edge. He felt the wind flow quickly past him, and even though the fall felt like forever, it was over quick, and the next thing he knew he was in Axel's arms as the red head hugged him.

"See? I told you I'd catch you." Axel whispered in his ear as he nuzzled his cheek against the blond's. Roxas slowly peeked open his eyes and looked around. He sighed and chuckled in relief as he found that he was, indeed, okay.

"Yeah... Thank you, Axel." Roxas said as he slowly returned the hug.

"Anyways," Axel started as he pulled away from the boy. "Let's get going before your dad realizes your gone."

He grabbed the Roxas' hand and started to pull him along down the street.

"Where are we going?" Roxas asked as he tried to catch up with Axel's long strides. He slowed his pace upon noticing Roxas having a hard time keeping up with him and walked beside the boy.

"You'll see~." He sang, smiling happily at the blond. Roxas blinked a couple of times in confusion, but decided to just let it go for now. He trusted Axel, and knew that where ever he was taking him, had to be worth sneaking him out of his house. If it wasn't though, he might have to kick the red head's ass... Might.

* * *

><p><strong>God, I am just a writing machine right now. I'm just really excited to get to this next part, because... Ahhh! It's just gonna be so much fun. I'm excited, I can't wait. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Because seriously, that first part with Axel all pissed was just so much fun, I wish i could just go randomly start a fucking fire! Yay for being a pyro :D Yeah anyways. Thank you so much for reading and such, I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this so much. So I'll see ya! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening (I'm making a habit out of this XD)<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

"Axel what are we doing over here?" Roxas asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he followed the red head over to a small dock where a boat big enough for three was tied on one of the wooden posts.

"It's a surprise." He said with a mischievous grin. "Now, get in the boat."

Roxas looked at the boat then back to Axel. Where the hell was he taking him? Axel looked over to the boy curiously then sighed.

"Come on, get in the boat." He said impatiently.

"How? I'm wearing jeans and sneakers Axel, I'll get soaked." Roxas said, gesturing at his legs. Axel looked over the blond then raised a brow.

"Roxas your not wearing any shoes." Roxas looked down at his feet in confusion, but found that he was indeed not wearing shoes. That didn't change the fact that he wasn't exactly wearing the proper bottoms for going knee deep in the water. When Roxas said nothing and just stared at the red head with a raised brow Axel rolled his eyes and hopped off the dock into the water.

"Come here." He said, reaching his hands up to him. Roxas hesitated for a moment but with a sigh he did as the other boy said. He sat on the edge of the wood then scooted off into Axel's arms, his feet going ankle deep before Axel quickly dipped him into the cool liquid. Roxas squealed Axel's name and started to squirm in the taller boys grip.

"Calm down, Roxas. Water will dry." Axel said, placing his hands on his hips after releasing him. "Now, get in the boat." Roxas simply glared at his counterpart. Axel sighed and rolled his eyes at the boy.

"Please, Roxas?" Axel pouted slightly at the smaller boy till, with a huff and a roll of the eyes he agreed, slowly climbing in as Axel held the boat steady for him. Axel made his way over to the post where the rope was tied and made quick work of the knot.

"So, what are we doing?" Roxas asked curiously as Axel moved the boat a bit further out before climbing in as well.

"I think that's obvious by now Roxy." He said with a cheeky smile. Roxas looked deadpan at the red head and he chuckled.

"Don't worry Roxas, you're gonna like it. Just sit back and watch the sunset or something."

Axel hopped into the boat and started to paddle. Roxas sighed and sat his head in his hands, watching the sunset for a moment before getting bored and turning his attention back to Axel. Honestly? He looked better than the sunset, and the bright orange rays of the sun behind him simply added to it. The glow completely framed around him, making his hair come alive with flame. His eyes seemed to glow brighter even though his face was mostly shaded. Roxas couldn't help but wonder if, maybe, his eyes just naturally glowed, kind of like a cats. Though he knew that impossible.

His eyes started to wander away from the boys face and down his long neck. Oh the things he could do to that neck. Or his chest. He'd seen him shirtless before, and God was he well toned. You'd think he worked out, but Demyx and Reno had laughed at the mere suggestion, saying Axel was far too lazy for that. So the red head had a natural fucking six pack... Asshole. Then there was his hips. God, he'd thought only girls had hips like that, but Axel's were just. Damn. Even a girls couldn't compare when he really got to thinking about it. There had been several times where he's caught himself just staring there as he walked, and he could swear that Axel purposefully swished his hips when he walked. It was as if he knew that it drove the blond crazy. Like he knew how much of a turn on he was to him. He had to admit, he had a weakness for hips. He'd always thought it kind of unfair that girls had actually hips, where as guys were just... Straight. Axel's were perfect though. He'd give anything to suck on them, leave his mark in the very place he loved the most.

His eyes started to move lower once more, past the black tank top that seemed to fit perfectly against his skin and his curvaceous hips. That was an area he had yet to see uncovered, though he would very much like to. Even during P.E. he hadn't seen anything. Then again, Roxas skipped out on that for the most part. He'd only gone a few times, maybe a week all together. Those had been the rare times he didn't have too many bad bruises though, and his wrists he could just cover with his wrist bands. But God, sometimes he just wanted to-

"Roxas!" Axel yelled, snapping his fingers in the boys face. Roxas jumped as he was pulled from his thoughts and looked up at the red head curiously.

"Y-yeah?" He asked breathlessly. Axel chuckled and grinned at the blond.

"We're here."

Roxas looked around him and noticed that they were sitting at another small dock, but they were at a well sized island with many large exotic trees and wooden constructions. He looked over to Axel again and he smiled at him.

"You like it?" Roxas looked around again and slowly nodded.

"It's amazing."

"I've come here with Demyx a couple times, but it's mostly Sora, Kairi, and Riku that come here. Come on, there's more to see." Axel climbed out of the boat, waist deep in the water. He helped Roxas out, not having much trouble with him since his pants were still wet, then he lead the blond over to the shore.

Grabbing the boy's hand, Axel lead him quickly inside the small shack by the shore and up the stairs to the small island across the bridge. The sun was cut in half by the horizon, it's soft glow shimmering against the water, and in the distance they could see the main island, some lights flickering on as the shadows of night slowly started to consume the larger island. Roxas sat next to the oddly curved tree, staring out at the sky. Axel smiled at the scene, just a couple steps behind the boy, then stepped forward and joined him on the sandy ground.

"Why did you bring me here?" Roxas asked suddenly, tearing his gaze away from the sky to look curiously at the red head beside him. Axel blinked in surprise at the question then shrugged.

"I don't know. I thought you'd like it. And it seemed like you kind of needed some time away from your house."

Roxas stared at him for a moment, then smiled and leaned forward, giving Axel a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Axel."

Axel smiled and wrapped his arm around the blond's shoulders, leaning his head against Roxas'.

"No problem, blondie."

* * *

><p>After the sun had set Axel had found a lantern in the small shack then showed Roxas around the front of the island a bit before taking him up to the small tree house where Axel had set down the lantern in the far corner. He'd gone and collected some soft shrubbery and piled it on the middle of the floor then laid the white cloth, hanging on the back wall, over everything. Roxas now sat atop this, wearing nothing but his boxers. His clothes were hanging on the railing of the small balcony outside the tree house, drying after getting soaked from Axel pushing him in the water.<p>

"Axel, don't you think we should be going home soon?" Roxas asked as he watched the red head undress himself.

"I was actually thinking we'd spend the weekend here." Axel said, pulling his wet shirt over his head then looked at Roxas when it was off. "Do you wanna go home?"

Roxas eyes widened slightly. Axel hadn't told him they would be spending the weekend. His mother probably didn't even know he was gone right now, and the moment she found out she was going to freak. Then not to mention there was his father. If he knew Roxas had sneaked out he'd be dead for sure.

"Don't worry, Roxas." Axel said, kneeling before the blond on the makeshift bed. "I told Reno everything and he's going to call your mother and tell her where you are. And I'm sure she'll figure out something to tell your father."

Roxas calmed down a bit and Axel smiled at him, planting a small kiss on his forehead. Axel then stood and quickly went about taking off his pants and hanging his clothing over the railing with Roxas's before hopping back in the bed with said blond. They were silent for a while, the only sound being that of small bugs and the waves hitting the shore. The small fire in the lantern illuminated them just enough so they could see each other, but thankfully it was still dark enough that Axel couldn't see any of the bruises or scars on the blond's pale body.

"Hey, Roxas?" Axel said, breaking the silence as he narrowed his eyes at the ceiling. Roxas gave him a hum of recognition, glancing over to the red head. It was silent for another moment as Axel carefully chose his next words.

"You trust me right?" Roxas blinked in surprise then slowly nodded.

"Yeah, of course I do. Why? What's up?" He turned slightly in the bed to look at his red haired boyfriend.

"Then... Why won't you tell me that your father beats you?"

Roxas's face paled considerably and his eyes widened slightly. What the hell was he talking about? _Why _hadn't he told him? He'd think that would be a given. But that question implied that Axel already knew about it and that he was just waiting for Roxas to tell him. But how the hell would Axel already know about the abuse? Roxas never showed his skin much, always taking to wearing long sleeves and jeans. The red head had only been over his house once and that was only for an hour. He may have met his father, but that was brief. And even when he'd gone off to 'talk' to his father during the red head's visit they'd kept their voices low, and all he'd received was a slap to the back of the head.

"Axel... I don't know where the hell you're getting this, but-"

"Oh cut the shit, Roxas." Axel interrupted, suddenly sitting up in the bed. "I know he fucking beats you, I heard him say so himself!"

Roxas's eyes widened even more and his heart started to thunder in his chest.

"When did you hear him say that?" Roxas asked as he sat up in the bed as well. He kept his eyes down, looking at his hands in his lap.

"Two weeks ago. When I met your parents. When you left the room I could hear your father talking and he asked you if he had to beat you again." Axel explained. He was staring out the small door as he ran a hand through his hair in irritation. Roxas swallowed thickly and tried to take a deep, calming breath.

"That's why I was grounded for two weeks." Axel said quietly. Roxas blinked in surprise and looked over to the other boy curiously.

"What did you do?"

"I was losing it. When I got home I started a fire in the backyard. Our stupid fucking neighbor started giving me shit for it so I was being an asshole to her. My mom got home while I was arguing with her and she told me to put out the fire and go to my room. I put out the fire, but... Then I took off out the back gate with the matches. When I got home my mom yelled at me and told me I couldn't leave the house for two weeks. I lost my phone for a month though." He said, grinning sheepishly at the last part. Roxas was completely silent. He didn't know what to say. He didn't even know how to react. He was in complete shock and all he could do was sit there and stare. Though he didn't know whether to look at Axel or not. He was even lost in that aspect.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Axel asked when the blond didn't respond. Not even a chuckle at the red head's misfortune.

"I thought you'd call the cops. Or worse..." He pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face in them. "I thought you might stop liking me." His voice was quiet and choked.

Axel's eyes widened considerably and he stared at Roxas for a moment in shock before quickly pulling the boy into a tight hug. His eyes widened at the sudden embrace and he brought his head up from his knees to look at the red head.

"Roxas, if you actually thought I'd stop liking you just because your father abuses you, your insane." Axel whispered to the blond. Roxas's eyes began to prickle with heat as tears started to form. He buried his face in Axel's shoulder and wrapped his arms around the taller boys thin waist.

They sat in their embrace for a while, Roxas crying into his shoulder as Axel held him close and rubbed small circles into his back for comfort. When Roxas finally calmed down Axel laid them back on the bed again. Roxas laid half on Axel's torso, gently running his fingers across the firm muscles of his chest. Axel's hand rested on the blond's lower back, his finger tips just below the waist band of his boxers. The silence dragged on for a while, Axel having more questions for Roxas, but not wanting to upset him again. Roxas was the first to break the silence though.

"You're not going to tell anyone are you?" His voice was so quiet, Axel wasn't even sure he'd actually said anything.

"I don't know." He said with a shrug. "Why haven't you told anyone?"

Roxas took a deep breath.

"My mom. She says we can't tell the cops, but she won't tell me why. I love my mom, Axel, I'm not going to go against her wishes. Now that you know everything... Will you please promise me that you won't tell anyone?" Roxas looked pleadingly at Axel. Said boy stared at him for a moment then smiled softly, reaching his hand up and running a hand through his soft blond locks. His hair was still a bit damp, but some how his hair still retained it side swept faux hawk styling.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise." A smile slowly made it's way onto Roxas's face and, not wanting to move from his comfortable position, he planted a soft kiss on the red head's chest.

"Thank you, Axel."

"No problem babe." He smiled and ruffled Roxas's hair, earning a small chuckle from the boy as he swatted away the offending hand.

"So, is there anything else like this that I should know?" Axel casually asked, returning his hand to it previous resting spot on the boy's back.

Roxas's eyes slowly wandered to his wrist, still covered by his black and checkered wrist bands. He stared at his wrist for a short moment before slowly shaking his head.

"No. There's nothing else..."

* * *

><p>The next day Axel was awoken by the sun shining brightly outside and into the small tree house. He slowly blinked away the sleep in his eyes and squinted down at the still sleeping blond on his chest. He looked so peaceful, and he was so adorable. How could someone ever hurt such an amazing person? That would be like kicking a puppy. How had Xigbar been able to date this kid for two years and not do a thing about Roxas's father? Sure, he could say he didn't tell him till towards the end of their relationship, but surely there's no way he couldn't have at least had his suspicions. Xigbar wasn't that much of an idiot.<p>

But there was one thing Axel really wanted to know about the boy.

How the hell did he cope with it all?

At school he dealt with Larxene and her cronies, then once he got home he had to deal with his alcoholic and abusive father. How did he do it? Axel's eyes traveled down slightly, stopping on a large bruise just below the boys shoulder blade. It was a terrible looking bruise, mostly bluish purple and a dark brown with yellow and green edging it. His eyes widened considerably and he placed a hand over his mouth in shock. He'd never seen such a nasty looking bruise. One part of his brain screamed at him to touch it, but the other part scolded him and told him that would hurt Roxas. Not wanting to hurt the blond, but still curious about the mark, he glided the tips of his fingers over the bruise, barely touching it.

A small hum came from Roxas and Axel immediately stiffened and pulled his hand away from the bruise. He moved a bit closer to the red head, burying his face in his chest and moaning slightly. Axel raised a brow to the quiet noise then let out a small chuckle.

"You're too cute kid." Axel said, running a hand through the boy's soft blond locks.

"You're not so bad yourself." Roxas mumbled sleepily. Axel could feel him smile against his chest as his hand slid across his stomach, stopping at his hip.

"Oh you finally waking up there, Sleeping Beauty?" Axel asked with a chuckle.

"No." Roxas turned his head, looking up at the red head with a sleepy grin and half lidded eyes. Axel chuckled as Roxas's thumb rubbed circles in his hip.

"How'd ya sleep?"

"Better than I've slept in years."

* * *

><p>Axel jumped off the miniature island with the crooked palm tree and into the cool shimmering water. Roxas smiled down at the red head as he popped out of the water, flipping his hair. Some of the wet locks stuck to his face in clumps and he pushed them away in irritation. This was probably the fourth time the pair had gone swimming today, but this was a bit different from the other three times. Since it was dark out now, Roxas had, hesitantly, agreed to go skinny dipping with the red head. Roxas had been wary about the whole thing, not really sure if he wanted to show the rest of his body to Axel (even if it was dark out). He'd simply rolled his eyes at the blond and continued to try and convince the boy. It was no surprise that he'd been able to get him to agree. Axel could get anything he wanted if he tried hard enough.<p>

"Come on Roxy!" Axel called, grinning and beckoning the boy with his finger. Roxas rolled his eyes but smiled and jumped in, water splashing up from the impact and hitting the red head near by. Axel laughed and swam over to Roxas.

"Fuck, why didn't you tell me it was so cold?" Roxas asked as he surfaced. He turned to look at Axel with a slight pout that could barely be seen in the bright moon light. Axel furrowed his brows at the boy in confusion.

"It's cold?"

"Yes! You don't feel how cold it is?"

Now, it wasn't _that_ cold. Since the sun had gone down the temperature of the water had changed with the coming night, and not to mention that Roxas normally felt colder with out his long sleeve shirts. That was one good thing about moving to the islands that Roxas had loved. He knew it would be hotter there so he'd always be warm. Roxas preferred colder weather since he didn't get odd looks then for wearing his long sleeves. However, Roxas's reaction at the current moment isn't for any of these facts but more towards the fact that Axel didn't even realize the water was cold.

Axel slowly reached his hands up and placed them on Roxas's cheeks. The blond's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly as he felt the heat radiate from his hands. He'd known the red head was warm, but Jesus, he didn't know it was to the extent that most cold things didn't register to him.

"Jesus, why are you so warm?" Roxas asked, looking curiously at Axel as he placed his cold hands over the ones still clamped around his face. Axel shrugged.

"I don't know. I just am. It's been that way since I was little."

Roxas stood there for a moment, staring up at the red head.

"You're like my own personal heater." Roxas said with a small smile. Axel chuckled and grinned mischievously at the short blond.

"Do you want a hug?" His voice seductive and smooth like butter.

"Hell no." Roxas said, pushing away from the naked red head. Just because they were dating and skinny dipping, didn't mean he wanted the boy's naked body pressed against his own. Well... He did want it pressed against his, but he wasn't gonna let Axel know that. Axel's grin widened and was able to rival that of the cheshire cats as it practically dripped with mischief.

Within seconds the red head had pounced on the blond, capturing him in his arms and holding him tightly against his chest. Roxas's cheeks flared with color and he started to squirm around in the taller boys arms.

"Axel!" He squealed. "Let go!"

Axel chuckled and nuzzled his face in Roxas's wet neck.

"Nuh uh Roxy." He said cheekily, causing the boy to whine and squirm more in his arms.

"Roxas, you better be careful with how you move there." Axel warned as the blond came dangerously close to rubbing his bum against his crotch. Roxas huffed and turned in the red head's arms so they were now chest to chest. He pouted up at Axel as he brought his hands up to the taller boys chest to try and push him away. He gave up after a moment, finding it futile, and rest his head against Axel's chest as his hands slowly wandered down his thin frame to his hips.

"You okay?" Axel asked, running a hand through the boy's wet hair. Roxas slowly nodded then looked up at the red head.

"I'm fine." He said with a small smile. And he honestly was. He was having a great time here with Axel, and he wasn't really looking forward to having to go home the next day, back to school with Larxene then home to his abusive father. He wished he could just stay here with Axel forever. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind though. He didn't want to think about all that. He wanted to just cherish what little time he had left with the red head here. He wanted to just cherish this moment, this embrace. Even if they were currently naked, that didn't matter. All that did matter was this boy before him. With his bright red hair and his stunning green eyes.

"I love you." Roxas said after a long moment of staring into Axel's eyes in complete silence, the only noise to be heard was the soft crash of the waves against the shore and the small bugs buzzing about near by. Axel's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the boy in shock. Had he really heard him correctly? Did Roxas really just say he loves him?

Roxas started to panic as the silence dragged on for a moment. Had he said it too soon? What if Axel didn't love him yet? Would he leave him?

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"No!" Axel said suddenly, interrupting the blond's apology. It was now Roxas's turn to have his eyes widen.

"Don't you dare apologize." His voice was stern and Roxas looked at him with a mix of curiosity and worry.

"Why?" He asked quietly. Axel took a deep breath, shaking his head sightly as he lowered his eye lids.

"Because I love you too." His voice was soft as he looked caringly at the blond boy in his arms. Roxas looked hopefully at Axel as he slowly moved his hands up his chest.

"Really?"

"Of course."

A brilliant smile came to the small blond's face as he wrapped his arms around the taller boys neck, their bodies pressing closer together as he heatedly kissed the red head. Axel reacted quickly as he kissed back and tightened his grip around Roxas' waist to hold him up a bit. It was a passionate and lustful kiss, but it didn't last very long as Roxas pulled away and pressed his forehead to Axel's. His eyes were half lidded and his breathing slightly heavy as he looked into his red haired boyfriend's beautiful green eyes.

"So, what now?" Roxas asked quietly, lightly biting his lip.

"Well," Axel began, lightly tracing his fingers over the spot just above Roxas's bottom. "We could keep swimming around or we could... defile the water."

* * *

><p><strong>OHHHH Yeah! I did just end it there! And you're gonna have to wait till the next chapter to find out Roxas's answer! Cause I'm just mean like that :) But holy mother of fuck, why was this chapter so hard for me to write?! I had it all planned out then I couldn't get on for like a day and I just lost it all. I was pissed man! I really hope you like this chapter because I worked so hard to make it great for you guys! I'd have to go cry in my emo corner if you didn't like it D:<strong>

**Smooth like butter. Because I can XD**

**Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. Thank you for your reviews, I love to read them. They just make my day. I love you guys so much, your the best. I'll see you next chapter! Good night, good morning, good afternoon, and good evening.**


	13. Chapter 13

Roxas grinned at Axel's words and bit his bottom lip. Sex with Axel did sound quite... appetizing. And it was rather tempting. It was all he'd been able to think about for a while now too, especially today since the red head and himself had just been wearing their boxers all day. But he'd only been with Axel for three weeks, and even though he'd love to get intimate with him, he knew it wasn't the right time yet. It had taken him a year to finally give in to Xigbar.

"As fun as that sounds... I think I need to pass." Roxas said quietly. Axel chuckled and nodded in understanding.

"I kind of figured. I'll wait as long as you want though Roxy." He said, nuzzling the blond's cheek. Roxas giggled, yes _giggled_, and buried his face in Axel's shoulder.

"Thanks Axel."

"No problem Roxas."

They stayed like that for a moment longer before a mischievous grin came to the red head's face.

"Now..." He trailed off, causing Roxas to look up at him curiously. Axel quickly adjusted Roxas so he sat bridle style in his arms. Roxas stared at the red head for a moment, trying to make out his expression in the pale moon light. As he caught sight of that grin his eyes widened and he started to shake his head.

"Axel, don't you dare." Roxas said in a stern voice.

Axel ignored the blond in his arms and threw him up in the air. Roxas let out a high pitched squeal as he flailed in the air then landed in the water with a loud smacking noise, the water splashing up from the impact and spraying Axel. Roxas shot out of the water with a gasp and flipped his wet hair out of his face before he broke out into a coughing fit. Axel placed his hand over his mouth, trying to hide his laughter from him.

"Are you okay, Roxas?" He asked, his voice choked from holding back his laughs. Roxas took a couple deep breaths, random coughs spluttering out as he tried to calm himself.

"No I'm not okay! I swallowed the fucking water you asshole!" Roxas yelled at the red head. Axel chuckled and moved over to the blond, wrapping his arms around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Roxy. I couldn't help myself." He said, burying his nose in Roxas's neck as he breathed in the boys scent, mingled with the smell of salt water.

"Bastard..." Roxas mumbled, pouting at the water before him. Axel smiled against his neck, kissing the boys warm skin softly.

"I know I am."

* * *

><p>Roxas laid on the balcony of the tree house, his legs dangling over the side as he stared up at the stars. Axel was right beside him, one hand in the blond's as the other rested on his stomach. It had been a while since they had gotten out of the water and slowly made their way back to the tree house, and they knew that it was getting late now. But, even though they were tired, neither one actually wanted to get up and go to bed. They were perfectly content to just lay on the balcony together and stare up at the stars. Roxas had always loved moments like these. The moments when you could sit with someone in complete silence and not feel like you have to talk to the person to cover the silence. He always felt like those times just proved that you and that person were perfect for each other. That wasn't really true with him and Xigbar though now was it? That didn't matter right now though. He didn't even want to think about the older boy right now. He just wanted to continue to enjoy this moment with his red haired boyfriend while he had it. Roxas sighed and scooted closer to the red head.<p>

"I don't want to go home tomorrow." He said quietly. Axel's head snapped over to the blond and he looked at him strangely.

"We're not going home tomorrow. We're going home Monday morning." Axel said. Roxas's brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at the red head.

"But we have school Monday." Axel sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I know that Roxas. But the sun comes up an hour or so before school. It will wake us up in the morning then we'll head back to the main island."

"But what if we're late? Or we miss school. We won't know what time it is till we get back to the island." Axel sat up, turning so he was facing the boy and placing his hands on either side of his head, hovering over him.

"Roxas, I promise you. We won't be late. I'll do anything to make sure of that, even if I have to stay up all night tomorrow." Roxas stared up at Axel for a moment then chuckled.

"Okay, Ax." Axel smiled at the boy then gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Come on, let's go to bed." He said, standing suddenly and holding his hand out to Roxas to help him up. Roxas took it appreciatively, and was pulled to his feet by the red head. He allowed Axel to lead him to their makeshift bed inside the small tree house, lying down on the coushion like shrubbery. He laid close to the red head, his head on Axel's chest and his hand on his hip. Axel smiled softly, wrapping his arm around Roxas to keep him close.

"You really like my hips don't you?" Axel asked with a light chuckle. Roxas blinked in surprise as a light blush came to his cheeks.

"Is it that obvious?" He chuckled embarrassedly.

"Well, you only touch them about every time we're in close proximity."

"You're the one that flaunts them everywhere." Roxas mumbled, lightly tracing small circles on the red head's hips. Axel chuckled and raised a slim, suggestive eye brow to the blond.

"Oh you noticed?" He asked seductively. Roxas felt his cheeks flare with color and he bit his lip in embarrassment.

"Shut up." Axel laughed at the quiet response and rubbed the boys shoulder.

"It's okay, Roxy. I know I'm irresistible." Axel grinned cheekily at the blond, flinching slightly when he felt a light smack on his chest.

They were silent after that, Roxas lightly trailing his fingers up and down Axel's hip as he thought about said boy. Axel stared up at the ceiling, able to see the stars twinkling through some of the leaves.

"I love you, Roxas." Axel said suddenly, kissing the boy atop his head. Roxas looked at red head curiously then smiled.

"I love you too, Axel." Roxas said, snuggling further into his warmth and lightly kissing his chest.

* * *

><p>Roxas and Axel were walking side by side with their hands intertwined on their way to school Monday morning. They had stopped by Roxas's house briefly so he could pick up his school bag and some shoes. Axel claimed that Reno would just bring his bag for him so they didn't have to stop by there. That left them with plenty of time to get to school though. Axel had, of course, been correct and they had woken up when the sun was coming up. Well, Axel had. Roxas was sound asleep until Axel woke him up. And he could have slept a lot longer than that. Especially since that was the first good sleep the blond had in years. He'd never even slept that way around Xigbar. It still seemed pretty early to Roxas for them to head to school, but he honestly had no clue how long it even took to walk to school, especially from the beach. Though, even if they did end up early to school, Roxas didn't care. He was happy so long as he was with Axel. The morning was also proving to be a good one thus far. It was warm out with a nice breeze and the sky was clear of any clouds. Since the sun was still rising stars could still be seen in the sky, but Roxas knew they wouldn't last very long. He couldn't believe how loud it seemed on the main island after spending the weekend across the way with just the sound of the waves crashing and the bugs buzzing. Here there was so much more noise and life. There were cars driving by with people on their way to school or work. Then there was the dogs that barked at every little thing that passed their way and the tom cats around the neighborhood getting into fights with each other. The rare students that chose to walk to and from school tended to group together, talking and laughing very loudly as they made their way down the streets. There was the mothers and fathers, walking their children to the elementary school, and out of excitement from seeing their friends, running around screaming.<p>

"It's too loud here." Roxas said, boredly watching a car as it passed the couple. Axel laughed.

"It does seem a lot louder here after you've spent the weekend on a quiet island alone doesn't it?" Axel said, smiling fondly at the sky. Roxas simply nodded and the two continued on in silence.

Upon arriving at school, some how before the buses even arrived, Roxas and Axel managed to run into the schools least favorite person. Larxene. She was standing by the gate, arms crossed over her chest and tapping her foot impatiently. She was obviously waiting for Marluxia to arrive. When she spotted Axel and Roxas headed her way a sadistic grin came to her face at the prospect of being able to torture the two. Axel sighed at the sight of the blonde, obviously not wanting to deal with the woman right now. Who did though? Especially first thing in the morning. Normally though, Axel just seemed indifferent about her presence. He never seemed to care to much when she was around, just brushing her off with a few snide remarks aimed at her and her companions. When she came around, Axel didn't even appear to have any kind of reaction to her.

"Do you wanna go around to the high school entrance?" Roxas asked. Axel shook his head and ran his free hand through his hair.

"Nah I'm good. I just didn't think we'd see her this soon into the school day." Axel explained. Roxas nodded in understanding and continued to follow the red head to the school. She looked the couple up and down for a moment then slowly raised a brow at them, her grin widening and eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Hey fags. Weren't you wearing those clothes Friday?" Axel rolled his eyes and stuffed his hand in his pocket.

"Is that really all you have to say? Jeez, you might wanna go brainstorm with your girlfriend when he gets here Larx cause that was terrible." Axel said, brushing past the blonde.

"Tch, like you haven't used that about a million times, Axel. Seriously, get some new material."

"Why get something new when the old stuff works just as well?" Axel asked, turning and walking backwards towards the school so he could grin at the girl. Roxas sighed and released the red heads hand, grabbing the straps of his book bag and walking quickly away from the arguing teens. He honestly didn't want to deal with Larxene or listen to her and Axel insult each other. He was in a good mood, and she was just ruining it. Axel turned quickly at the loss of contact with his boyfriend and saw the boy retreating.

"Aw running away Blondie?" Larxene called after him with a sadistic smile. Axel shot her a warning glare in turn.

"Roxas!" He called after said boy, eye brows furrowing as he hurried after the boy.

"Roxas, what's the matter?" Axel asked when he caught up to his boyfriend.

"Nothing. I just want to get in the school. If you wanna stand around and bicker with Larxene then be my guest, but I'm not gonna stand there and listen to it." Axel raised a brow and frowned at the blond.

"Roxas, if that was the problem why didn't you just say something?" Roxas sighed and turned to look at the red head.

"Because I didn't think you were actually going to argue with her." Roxas's face was completely deadpan. "You didn't seem like you were in the mood to deal with her, so I thought you were going to ignore her. I don't care if you want to, Axel, I just don't want to listen to it."

Axel scratched the back of his head and looked away from him.

"Sorry." He mumbled after a moment of silence.

"It's fine, Axel. I don't care." Axel lowered his head and pouted at the ground. It didn't feel like it was okay. Roxas looked curiously at the red head and, with another sigh, he slipped his hand into Axel's. Roxas smiled up at the taller boy and squeezed his hand.

"It really is alright Axel." Axel looked up at Roxas then smiled a bit. As he opened his mouth to respond he was cut off by a familiar deep voice calling out to Roxas. Roxas' head shot up to look at the approaching boy. His eye brows furrowed slightly at the sight of the elder.

"What do you need Xigbar?" Roxas asked, not wanting to spend too much time speaking with Xigbar for Axel's sake. He could tell the red head was ready to just drag him off in a different direction.

"Where the hell have you been? You're mother has been calling me all weekend. She said she went to tell you goodnight Friday and you were gone." Xigbar said, crossing his arms over his chest. The blond's eyes widened and he turned to look at Axel.

"You said your brother was going to call!" Roxas yelled. Axel's brows furrowed in irritation as he scratched the back of his head.

"He told me he would, I don't know why he didn't!" Axel defended.

"Could you please go find your brother and find out why he didn't?" Axel sighed and looked at the older boy standing in front of Roxas. He didn't really want to leave him alone with Xigbar. Upon seeing the expression he was sending him, Roxas sighed and rubbed a hand across his face.

"I'll be fine Axel, you don't have to worry about Xigbar. Now go. Please." Axel looked at Roxas worriedly but nodded none the less and jogged off down the hall to hunt down his older brother. Roxas watching him as he left.

"So you were with Axel?" Xigbar asked suddenly. Roxas looked back at Xigbar and nodded.

"Yeah. I spent the weekend with him. I sneaked out of my house because my father was home. He said Reno was going to call my mom and tell her where I was. Obviously that didn't happen though." Roxas explained, crossing his arms and looking at the floor.

"Why didn't you just tell your mom yourself?"

"I wasn't expecting to stay the weekend. Axel hadn't even told me what we were doing. And I don't have a cell phone anymore because of my dad. I would've used Axel's, but he got his phone taken away from him." Xigbar raised a brow to the boy and tilted his head slightly.

"You don't have a phone anymore?" Roxas shook his head in answer. Xigbar pursed his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. The two were silent for a moment as Xigbar was lost in his thought.

"I should probably-"

"Here." Xigbar started, cutting off Roxas as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Take mine." He held out the phone for Roxas to take, but he simply stared at it for a moment before shaking his head at the older boy.

"I'm not taking your phone Xigbar. I'll just wait till my parents can afford phones again."

"It's not like I need it, Roxas. There's no one I need to talk to. You'd have more use for it than I would. You'd be able to tell your mom when your going out and, you'd be able to talk to Axel more." Roxas pushed the phone back towards Xigbar.

"I said no Xigbar. I don't need the phone or your charity." Xigbar's brows furrowed and he frowned at the boy in disapproval.

"Roxas Rosa Osment you are taking this phone." Xigbar said, holding it back up to the boy. When Roxas refused once more Xigbar huffed, grabbing his hand and shoving the phone into it.

"Keep it." And with that Xigbar hurried off, mostly so Roxas couldn't slip it back in his pocket. Roxas stood alone in the hallway now, phone in hand, but not quite sure what to do. He would admit, having a phone again would be nice, as would talking to Axel more, and it would be much easier to inform his mother of when he's going out without the chance of having a run in with his father. But he didn't want to take the older boys phone. Plus, how would Axel feel if he knew that Xigbar had given him his phone and that Roxas had accepted it. Of course he had tried to deny it, but keeping it would be accepting it. Knowing Xigbar though, he wouldn't quit till Roxas did accept it. Pushy bastard.

God, why did life have to be so confusing?

* * *

><p>Axel hurried through the hall ways of the high school, searching everywhere for the familiar red of his brother's hair. So far, he'd been to the parking lot to make sure his brother was here, then he went to his locker. His car was here, but he wasn't in the parking lot and he wasn't at his locker. He was probably at his class room, but Axel had no clue what his brother's first class was or where it was for that matter. Finally though, he ran into the same blond that had told him where Xigbar's class was a couple weeks ago. He'd gotten the same kind of answer from the blond, what his class was, where it was, and what seat he sat in. It was getting kind of creepy to be honest. However, he didn't have time to worry about that at the moment. Right now he had to find out why his brother hadn't contacted Roxas's mother like he was supposed to. He thanked the boy for his help though and hurried in the direction of the class room, repeating the directions the blond had given him in his head like a mantra. When he finally arrived to the class room he found the boy had been, once again, right about everything.<p>

Reno's head snapped up when he noticed his brother enter the room and looked curiously at him.

"Ax, what are you doing here?" Reno asked as the younger red head approached him.

"Well, Xigbar just informed Roxas and I that you never called his mother like I asked you to. Care to explain why?" Axel said, placing his hands on his hips. Reno's eyes widened slightly and a light blush formed on his cheeks.

"Axel, I swear to God, I tried to call her. But every time I did his dad answered and when I asked to speak with her it would become a game of twenty drunken questions then he'd tell me no and hang up." Axel cursed under his breath and kicked the chair next to him. Reno flinched then smiled apologetically at his brother.

"I'm really sorry bro, I really did try though." Axel sighed and nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"I know you did. And I appreciate it." Axel said, gripping the back of his hair tightly.

"I'll see you after school then Reno." Axel turned to leave but was stopped when Reno spoke again.

"Did you have fun with, Roxas?" He asked, his eyes filled with curiosity. Axel turned back, smiling at his brother.

"It was great. I'll tell you all about it on the ride home 'kay?" Reno grinned and nodded.

"Sounds good. I'll see you later bro." Axel nodded and headed out of the class room, back to the junior high for his first class with Roxas and Demyx.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm such a shit head. I haven't been on the computer for a bit, that's why this chapter took so long to finally get up. Also, I'm not really loving the Larxene part, but I didn't want to take it out or fix it, and it reminds me of shit that a friend of mine and I would do. Like he'll honestly do anything I want and he never wants to piss me off. He's just a total sweetheart, I love him :) Anyways, I really hope you liked this chapter. I don't know how long it's gonna take for me to get the next chapter up, but I'll get on that as soon as possible. Shit's kind of crazy though and apparently as a school project I have to make a doll and sell it online so I can buy some freaking headphones. So hey, if any of you would possibly be interested in something like that the doll is crocheted I can make absolutely anything you would want and it would cost about 20 to 30 dollars. So let me know if you'd be interested in buying one. My headphones are breaking :( sad day.<strong>

**Also, I've been wondering about what I'm going to do after this story, and I've got a few ideas and I'm wondering if any of you would be interested in them. I've been thinking about taking disney movies, like Beauty and the Beast and Tangled ect., and rewriting them with Kingdom Hearts characters, probably mostly AkuRoku. And I would make it my own, I wouldn't want to copy the real stories like I see done a lot of the time. Then there's another story where it's like internet relationship, and I was thinking of doing that with Axel and Roxas or Demyx and Zexion. Or there's this one story I've had in my head a really long time, it's kind of hard to give a short summary of the story, but it would also either be an Akuroku or I would use some OC's with the KH characters. I'm not really big on adding my OC's in a story, but every time I think about this I just have a hard time seeing it working with out them. I mean, some people could end up kind of OOC. If I did use my OC's in this story though Axel would be paired with one of the OC's instead of a canon. I guess to try and sum it up a bit, the main character for the story would be separated from their twin at birth and the twins have these special powers, and when together they're like this ultimate weapon and Xehanort wants to use them to take over the world. Axel the other twin and about three other people have to go and retrieve the main character to protect them and also get their help to take out Xehanort. The main character doesn't believe any of this though until their home town is completely destroyed by Xehanort. So yeah, let me know if any of those interest you guys. And let me know what you'd think about that last one being written with or without OC's.**

**Anyways, Thanks so much guys. I love you all and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry you had to wait so long for it and it's kind of short. I'll see you all later. Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening!**


	14. Chapter 14

**DatGuest,**

**I can make a moogle or a heartless. I can even make people, so if you are interested, let me know. I will be more than happy to make something for you. I can even give you some links to a couple of the dolls I've made in the past if you want to check them out before deciding.**

**Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. Haha well, it will come along soon dear, just you wait ;)**

* * *

><p>When Roxas had gotten home Monday after spending the weekend with Axel on the island across the way, he had been surprised to find that his father wasn't home. Though his mother was, and he'd gotten a stern lecture about just leaving the house and not telling her. He'd explained everything to his mother, about how Reno was supposed to call but that his father kept answering the phone and that's why she hadn't been informed. How he hadn't even known when sneaking out that he would be spending the weekend. He'd apologized to his mother for scaring her. However, he'd still earned himself a grounding for the rest of the week.<p>

After sitting with his mother and telling her all about his weekend, except for the naked parts, his father had come home. Apparently the man hadn't realized he was even gone till Sunday morning, but when he did he was pissed. And he'd taken out that anger on Roxas, leaving large, blotchy, and quickly darkening bruises all over his body and even a few cuts and deep scratches when Roxas had tried to push the man away from him. The whole time the man screamed at him about leaving the house without his permission and telling him how terrible of a child he was. After all of that had taken place Roxas had gone to his room, taking up his bottle of pills, which still sat on the window sill, and popped a couple into his mouth. His knife still sat on his bed as well, but he didn't bother to take it up. He was too tired, beaten and sore to even think about cutting himself at that point. It amazed him to think that just that weekend he hadn't needed these things. He didn't need his pills to get rid of a headache or any kind of physical pain. He didn't need to cut his wrist and lazily watch as the blood trickled from the wound. It was like the addictions and even the pain was gone when he was with Axel. It was nice to feel that way. Nice to not have to worry about such things. Even when he was with Xigbar he'd never felt that way. Never felt like he didn't need to cut to get through the pain of his everyday life. Didn't need to take pills to nullify the pain he felt in his head and heart. Sure, he'd called Xigbar whenever he was feeling the urge to do those things. But that was only because Xigbar had made him promise to call. The urges and the absolute want and need never went away though. It's just as if they had been pushed back a little bit longer till the days that he would burst and even Xigbar couldn't help him. Those days had come. And they were some of the most terrible. He could still recall a day when Xigbar had found him with several different cuts on his arm, bleeding out as he sat on the floor by his bed, looking at the wall across from him. Xigbar had ended up patching his arm up for him.

That had been the day he told the older boy he wanted to die.

Xigbar had slapped him for it and screamed at him, trying to figure out how the boy could ever want such a thing. He knew Roxas's life was bad, but to him... Wanting to die just to escape from everything, not even trying and putting up a fight just seemed pathetic. Roxas had simply continued to stare at the wall through the whole thing. He hadn't been the slightest bit upset about being slapped by his, at the time, boyfriend. He knew he deserved it. And when Xigbar had said how pathetic and cowardly it was to want to end your life, Roxas had agreed. He knew he was a coward and he knew he was pathetic. But those facts just simply added on to him wanting to end his life. After all, how could someone like him, such a pathetic excuse for a human being, ever deserve to live.

Well, that was what he had thought at the time at least.

When he had voice that quietly after Xigbar's ranting, he had been sure the older boy was going to scold him even more. But he hadn't. His body had visibly slumped at the blonde's words, his eyes had grown wide and he'd slowly shuffled over to the boy, dropping to his knees in front of him. He'd stared at him for a while before he'd finally pulled Roxas into a hug and started to console him, telling him how wonderful he was and how he didn't deserve to die. He tried to make everything okay. Tried to cheer him up and had even apologized for hitting him and ranting. Roxas had just shaken his head through the whole thing, not wanting to believe Xigbar's words.

He supposed that Xigbar had gotten through to him at some point though, otherwise he wouldn't be here now. He wouldn't be in Destiny Islands. He wouldn't have met Axel. And he wouldn't have had the most spectacular nights of his life with the red head...

He'd gone and thanked Xigbar the next day for it, though hadn't exactly told Xigbar what he was thanking him for, thus leaving the older boy quite confused. For the rest of the week, the only thing worth mentioning had been that Larxene had decided to start tracking him down every day when he was alone, teasing and taunting the young blond. Even resorting to violence whenever there was no other living beings around. That week had been a terrible one, dealing with Larxene and her cronies on top of all his father's bull shit. Every day when he'd gotten home he'd immediately take pain relievers, just to get rid of the massive headache that everything going on would cause. The only good thing about his days had been his red haired boyfriend and the blond sitarist that hung around him as often as possible.

It wasn't until three weeks later that anything really big happened to the blond though.

* * *

><p>"Sweetie?" His mother said as she washed the dishes. Roxas was cleaning off the table from dinner, looking curiously at his mother when she spoke.<p>

"Yeah Mum?"

"Well I've been thinking, would you like to invite Axel for Christmas Eve dinner?" Roxas stumbled a bit and almost dropped the glass bowl in his hands. His eyes grew wide and he looked at his mother as if she'd lost her mind. She looked over to him curiously then smiled understandingly at Roxas.

"You don't have to worry about him honey. Sora and his family will be coming over as well. Your father already knows this, and you know he's not going to do anything in front of company."

Roxas bit his lip in thought, looking worriedly at the bowl in his hands.

"Okay, I'll ask him." Roxas said. She smiled brightly at Roxas then continued to do the dishes.

Roxas was still worried about the whole idea of inviting Axel to a dinner with his family. His father was unpredictable, even with company over the house. He had no clue what Axel might try to do either.

Then there was Sora. His cousin loved to tease him about Axel. If the red head wasn't around he tended to just ask him a bunch of questions about Axel, but if he was around? That was a different story all together. He'd make kissy faces at him all night, tell Axel about stupid shit they did as kids and even get his seven year old brother involved. It would, over all, just be a terrible night. Though, he supposed, with Axel there it would be half alright.

* * *

><p>Roxas sat out on the steps of the high school, waiting for Axel and Reno to venture out. He'd already missed the bus so he decided to take it as a sign that he needed to man up and ask the young red head if he wanted to come over for Christmas Eve dinner. If he said yes, this would be the second time Axel had been over his house. This visit, however, would last a lot longer than the last one.<p>

Roxas sighed and ran a hand through his soft messy spikes. He honestly wasn't looking forward to that night. Suddenly, the doors creaked open behind him and he twisted around to see the two red heads he was waiting for. Axel raised an eyebrow curiously at the boy and stepped over to him.

"Hey Roxy, what are you still doing here?" He asked, slipping his hands into his pockets and leaning forward slightly to get a better look at his blond boyfriend.

"I um... I wanted to ask you if you'd like to... Have Christmas Eve dinner with my family?" Roxas asked nervously, looking down at his hands with a light blush covering his cheeks. Axel's eyes widened slightly.

"Uh Sure, I can totally do that. My mom's not going to be home anyways."

"Aww you're gonna leave me home all alone on Christmas Eve, Axel? That's so cruel!" Reno said dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from Axel with a pout on his face.

"Ah, you can come too... If you want that is." Roxas said quickly. Reno chuckled and smiled at the blond.

"Nah, I'm fine Choco. Wouldn't want to intrude on your families dinner. Besides, I've already made plans to hang out with a couple of friends." Reno placed his hands behind his head and grinned at the two younger boys. Axel raised a brow and placed his hands on his hips. A small smirk graced his features.

"Oh, so you were just going to leave _me_ home all alone on Christmas Eve?" Axel asked cheekily.**_  
><em>**

"Hell yeah man!" Axel and Roxas laughed at the enthusiastic response.

So that was that, Axel was coming over Roxas' house for dinner with his parents and cousins.

* * *

><p>Roxas now stood in his kitchen, helping his mother cook as he waited for his initial doom. The arrival of his cousins. The day had felt like it passed far too quickly for his liking, he would have rather had his day pass much slower. The quicker it passed meant the sooner they would be there. Soon enough though, the door bell rang and he slowly made his way over to the door when his mother asked him to answer it. He opened it with the most deadpan look he had, but it soon changed to surprise as he was greeted with the sight of his grinning boyfriend.<p>

"Hey Roxy! Why the long face?" He said, his smile soon changing to a look of curiosity as he tilted his head to the side.

"I'm just not looking forward to my cousins coming over." Roxas said as he moved to allow Axel into the house.

"Oh I get you. At least I'm here though right?" Axel smiled reassuringly as he wrapped his arm around the blond's shoulders. Roxas chuckled and nodded. The couple headed into the kitchen after that, where Axel was greeted by Roxas's mother.

"Oh Axel, I'm so glad you could make it sweetheart!" She said, wrapping her arms around the tall red head. "How have you been?"

"I've been pretty good, how about you Mrs. Osment?" Axel said, taking a seat at the table as Kate moved to continue cooking.

"I've been well dear." The door bell rang once more and, with a dejected sigh, Roxas slowly made his way to the door again. There stood a grinning Sora, his younger brother Vanitas, who was looking around curiously, and his older brother Terra, who seemed to be barely paying attention to anything since he had his phone out and his thumbs were flying across the key pad. Sora's parents were just coming up the walk, with what appeared to be a pie and a container of mashed potatoes.

"Hey Roxas! Merry Christmas!" Sora said cheerfully as he pulled the blond into a hug.

"It's not Christmas yet Sora, it's Christmas Eve." Roxas said, half heartedly returning the brunet's tight hug.

"Oh same difference." Sora pulled back and waved his hand in dismissal, grinning cheekily at Roxas.

Roxas chuckled and shook his head. Sora slipped into the house, looking around since he'd only been over once since Roxas moved. Everything was still packed at that time. Vanitas walked right in and immediately went to the kitchen where Roxas heard his mother talking excitedly upon the young boys entrance. He then felt a hand ruffle his hair and he swatted it away, looking over to see a grinning Terra.

"Long time no see Roxas." Terra said with a grin.

"It's been two years hasn't it? Where the hell have you been?"

"School. Then one year I went to my girlfriends for Christmas, so I couldn't make that dinner."

"_You_ got a girlfriend? She's not imaginary is she?" Roxas teased, earning him a shove from the older male, though a smile played on his lips at the joke.

"Yeah right! You just wish you had my good looks so you could get a girlfriend." Roxas snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever man! Besides, girls are overrated." He grinned and Terra raised a brow at the blond. It took Roxas a moment to realize why Terra looked so confused, but finally it clicked as he remembered that he'd started to date Xigbar after Terra had left for school. He didn't tell anyone till that point that he was gay. Except for Xigbar that is. He'd known not long after they'd met. But Terra had obviously never been told. Even by Sora.

"I'm gay." Roxas said, a bit quietly so his father wouldn't hear. The man already knew, but Roxas knew that mentioning his sexuality just upset the man, and no one really need that right now.

"I didn't know that. When did this happen?" He asked curiously, tilting his head slightly and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I always was. I just didn't come out until about a month after you left for school. I'm kind of surprised Sora never told you though." Terra chuckled and nodded.

"You'd think he would have. Guess he figured it wasn't his place."

Roxas stayed in the hall with Terra for a moment, waiting for his parents to get in the house so he could shut the door.

"So, you got anyone special yet or are you just playing the field for a bit?" Terra asked, breaking the silence as they walked down the hall to the kitchen. Roxas smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah, he's actually in the kitchen waiting for me."

"Really? I'll have to go say hello." Roxas chuckled and nodded once more.

They quickly made their way into the kitchen just stopping short of the door way as they laid their eyes on the scene before them. Vanitas was on Axel's shoulders, pulling the red heads long hair as Axel and Roxas' mother tried to grab the little boy off of him. Sora was standing by the back door, snickering at the scene as Roxas' aunt sat at the kitchen table shaking her head with an exasperated look on her face.

"Vanitas!" Roxas yelled, causing everyone to halt in their actions and look over to the blond. His expression was one of extreme irritation. He wasn't that upset, it was actually kind of funny, but he knew that if he didn't look and sound pissed the boy wouldn't listen to a damn thing he had to say.

"Get off Axel, _now_!" Roxas stamped his foot on the ground with the command and pointed at the floor. Vanitas stared at him for a moment before slowly climbing off the red head and grumbling as he went to exit the kitchen. Roxas stood in his path though and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Apologize." He said. Vanitas looked up at him defiantly, but Roxas just stared down at the boy.

"Go on, apologize." Vanitas huffed and turned back around, grumbling out an apology then scurrying out of the kitchen. Everyone was staring at Roxas in surprise, but as he was just starting to get uncomfortable under their gazes Terra broke the silence with a loud laugh. Axel and Sora started to laugh along with him as his mother just smiled and went back to cooking. His aunt, however, was just in complete shock. Roxas blushed, shuffling over to the table and sinking low into one of the chairs.

"How the hell did you do that?" His aunt managed to ask after a moment of shock. Roxas shrugged and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.

"I guess it's in the tone of voice?"

"I've tried speaking to him like that, he doesn't listen!" She said exasperatedly. Roxas sank lower in his seat.

"I guess Roxas just has a way with kids!" Sora said with a cheeky grin.

"Shut up, Sora." Roxas said, glaring at the table. Axel placed a hand on the blond's shoulder and smiled down at the boy.

"Oh don't be pouty, Roxy. It's a good thing." He said, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. Roxas looked up at the taller boy and smiled slightly in thanks.

Axel took the seat beside his boyfriend, slipping his hand into Roxas' and intertwining their fingers.

"So Roxas," Terra started, taking the seat in front of Roxas. "Is this your boyfriend?"

Roxas blushed a light pink and slowly nodded.

"Axel, this is my cousin Terra. Terra this is Axel."

"Nice to meet you." Terra said, reaching a hand across the table to Axel.

"You too." Axel said, smiling as he took the offered hand in his own.

The night went by a bit faster than Roxas had originally thought it would. Axel and Terra talked for a while, getting to know each other. Just as Roxas had expected, Sora spent most of the time teasing him. It wasn't really as bad as he had expected it to be though. They all spent the majority of the night in the kitchen while Roxas's father and uncle sat in the living room watching tv. Vanitas had acted up a couple more times after that incident but was quickly stopped by Roxas, seemingly the only person he would listen to. The only time Roxas had left the kitchen was when he had to tell his father and uncle that dinner was ready. His father asked Axel many questions over dinner, causing Roxas to become very uncomfortable. He'd much rather his father and boyfriend didn't speak at all. Then after dinner, much to Roxas's dismay, everyone had gathered in the living room to watch some movies. Roxas made sure to sit as far away from his father as possible while still sitting next to Axel. When Axel had tried to hold the blond's hand, Roxas had slipped his hand out of Axel's warm grasp, placing his hand in his lap and laying his other hand atop it.

"You okay?" Axel asked quietly, looking worriedly at Roxas.

"I'm fine." Roxas said, smiling at the red head.

Axel's eye brows pinched together, but he said nothing more on the subject, not wanting to force Roxas to talk if he didn't want to.

"Oh Kate, we're going to have to leave soon, it's almost Vanitas's bed time." Roxas' aunt said as she tried to control the squirming boy in her arms before growing tired of it and handing him over to his father.

"I understand, we'll just let the boys open their presents and you can be on your way." Kate said happily. The other woman agreed and they soon started to pass out gifts until everyone but Axel had a present.

Roxas looked over to Axel, biting at his lip then suddenly stood from his seat beside Axel, picking up a small, light green box from beneath the tree. On the top of the small present dangled a red curly ribbon. Roxas had spent forever trying to find a color of green that matched the red head's eyes, but he couldn't find anything to compare, so he'd gone with the closest color that matched. He handed the box to Axel and sat back down beside him. Sora sat across from him, making kissy faces at his blond haired cousin. Roxas was tempted to flip him off, but he knew that if he did his mother would freak out. Axel looked at the present in surprise. He didn't know if Roxas was going to get him a present, but he didn't think the blond would give it to him in front of everyone if he had.

"Go on, open them up." Kate said excitedly as she motioned with her hands for them to hurry up. And with that they all started to tear into their presents. Terra had received a new bag to carry his laptop in, Sora got a bracelet, linked together by tiny metal charm crowns, Vanitas got some kind of educational game, and Roxas got a book called Misery.

"Are you gonna open it?" Roxas asked, looking curiously at Axel. Axel looked down at the small box in his hands then slowly opened it. His eyes widened as he stared down at a metal lighter with an eight point chakram engraved on the front. He slowly took the lighter out of the box, his mouth was slightly agape as he examined the lighter, running his thumb over the engraving.

"Look at the back." Roxas said, smiling at the red head. He turned the lighter over in his hand and a smile slowly crept onto his face as he read the engraved lettering. it read:

_One sky, one destiny._

"Do you like it?" Roxas asked, closely watching Axel's reaction.

"I love it. Thank you Roxas." He said, smiling as he pulled the blond into a tight hug. Roxas returned it with a chuckle. Thankfully, no one was paying attention to them, too busy looking over their own gifts to care about what everyone was doing around them.

Well, all but one right?

When they pulled away from the hug Axel's phone started to ring and everyone looked over to him curiously. Pulling out his phone, he raised an eye brow to the caller ID then answered it and left the room.

"Reno what's-"

"Zack's dead." Reno said as soon as he heard Axel's voice. Axel froze, just outside the doorway. His eyes widened and he felt them begin to sting with fresh tears. His grip on his phone started to loosen and he almost dropped the small device.

"Please tell me this is just a sick joke." Axel said quietly, his voice starting to choke near the end as a couple tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I really wish it was." Reno said, equally quiet.

"Axel?" Roxas said from the couch, looking worriedly at the red head. Axel waved his hand at the blond, not wanting to turn around and let everyone see him crying, then quickly stalked over to the front door and stepped outside.

* * *

><p><strong>And now you have to wait till next time once again. Haha :D I am a terrible person, I'm sorry I do these things to you guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. is mean to me. I wrote a bunch of the story then I hit save and it told me I had to login to do that and everything I wrote was lost! I was so fucking pissed man! Anyways, I love you guys, your so awesome. I'll see you next chapter! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening!<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**DatGuest,**

**Miharu-Lawliet deviantart com/art/Axel-Plushie-313515008?q=gallery%3Amiharu-lawliet%2F12853082&qo=88**

**Miharu-Lawliet deviantart com/art/Date-Masamune-Plushie-313515940?q=gallery%3Amiharu-lawliet%2F12853082&qo=87**

**Miharu-Lawliet deviantart com/art/Xigbar-Plushie-313516398?q=gallery%3Amiharu-lawliet%2F12853082&qo=86**

**Miharu-Lawliet deviantart com/art/Netami-Plushie-315812586?q=gallery%3Amiharu-lawliet%2F12853082&qo=74**

**There's a couple of the plushie's I've made, just take out the spaces and add the dots. I've made plenty more, I just haven't taken any pictures of them lol. They would about $25 and I can make most dolls in three days. Haha, well thank you love, I'm really glad you like it so much, and I really appreciate the feedback. Well, there's nothing wrong with that, though the world can surprise you at times. Who knows, there could be many more guys in your country that read fanfiction :)**

* * *

><p>Axel stepped onto the porch, making double sure the door had closed behind him then shoved his hand in his pocket.<strong><br>**

"What happened?" Axel asked, voice choked as more warm tears slid from his eyes.

"Him and Cloud were going to see Aerith for Christmas, they were going to surprise her. So when they were leaving the airport Zack was trying to get a cab when Cloud heard some moaning coming from an ally. Cloud went to check it out and when he found the guy he suddenly held him at gun point. He was trying to mug him, but when Zack noticed Cloud was gone he went to find him. When he saw the guy pointing a gun at Cloud he tackled him and tried to get the gun away from him... But he got shot in the process..." Reno trailed off for a moment and Axel could hear a choked sob come from the other end of the line.

"Cloud knocked him out after that with a pole he'd found on the ground. He called 911 while he tried to put pressure on the wound and after he'd hung up Zack spoke to him for a minute. He died before the ambulance could get there. The doctors said the chances of him living through that were slim..."

Axel ran a hand through his hair, gripping the back of his hair tightly in his hand and squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't believe this.

"Axel, I'm sorry bro, but I gotta go. Aerith is calling. I'll pick you up in a little bit okay?" Reno said.

"It's okay, Reno. I'll just walk home. I'll see you later." Axel said quietly and hung up before Reno could reply. He gripped the phone in his hand tightly as he stared down at the bright light of his screen.

"Axel?" The familiar voice of his golden haired boyfriend said from behind him. He opened his eyes slightly and he could see the light from inside shining onto the porch before slowly disappearing as Roxas closed the door.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he slowly walked closer to Axel. Axel turned his head slightly to look at the blond from the corner of his eye. His face was completely contorted with worry and he gently placed his hand on the red heads arm. Axel's eyes welled with fresh tears and he grabbed the hand on his arm, pulling Roxas into a tight hug. Roxas's eyes widened slightly but he quickly returned the hug as Axel started to cry into his shoulder.

"Axel, what's the matter?" Roxas asked after a moment of silence. Axel was quiet for a moment longer.

"Zack died." He choked into Roxas' shoulder. The blond's eyes widened even more and he tightened his grip on the red head.

"You're kidding." Axel slowly shook his head and Roxas bit his lip as his eyes started to prickle with heat. He hadn't known Zack as long as Axel and Reno, but in the time that he had spent around the older boy he had come to care for him deeply. Zack just had that kind of affect on people.

"I'm so sorry, Axel... It's... It's gonna be okay, I promise." Roxas said, hoping to console his boyfriend.

"No it's not. It's not going to be okay Roxas! I've known him since I was born! He was like a brother to me, he's always been there for me! So no, it's not going to be okay! He didn't deserve this!" Axel yelled, stepping away from the blond and throwing his phone out of anger. Roxas jumped at the outburst and unconsciously took a step back from the red head. Axel took no notice to this as he buried his face in his hands and crouched down on the porch, sobbing into his hands. Roxas took a deep breath then stepped over to the red head, sitting down beside him with his knees pulled against his chest.

"Okay... It's not going to be alright." Roxas said, pursing his lips as he thought about what to say next. Axel's eye brows furrowed in confusion and he peeked out from his hands to look at the blond.

"You're terrible at this." He said with a small smile, though the tears continued to stream down his face and his voice was still choked. Roxas smiled and nodded.

"Just a little bit. But, I've never had to deal with the death of a loved one. And you know, it may never be completely okay. That kind of shit leaves a deep scar. But you know, he's not completely dead." Roxas said, staring up at the sky as he spoke. Axel looked even more confusedly at the blond, even though he knew he wasn't looking at him.

"What do you mean?" Axel asked as he moved into a more comfortable position beside the blond.

"In your heart. So long as those who Zack met remember him he'll live on. Inside our memories, which are dear to our hearts, he'll live forever." Roxas said. Axel stared wide eyed at the blond as a soft smile slowly crept onto his face. He got up on his knees and wrapped his arms around the blond once more.

"Thank you, Roxas." Roxas smiled and returned the hug. They sat like that for a while longer, Roxas leaning his head into Axel's as the red head silently cried into his shoulder.

"I should probably get going." Axel said, breaking the silence as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Wait right here, I'll be right back." Roxas stood and ran into the house, leaving Axel alone with his thoughts once more. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking up at the stars. Roxas didn't come back for about ten minutes, and in that time he'd started to cry again as he thought about Zack. He couldn't even begin to think of what life would be like with out him. The future just seemed so empty when he thought about it.

"Okay," Roxas began as he stepped outside once more. He was smiling and holding Axel's present in his hand. "My mom said I can walk you home."

Axel paused for a moment to stare at the blond then slowly smiled. He thanked the boy again then they were on their way down the street, heading for Axel's house. They walked at a slow pace, so close to each other that their hands were bumping into each others until Axel finally just took the blond's hand in his.

"Do you think your mom would be okay with you hanging out for a bit? Not all night, just maybe a couple hours?" Axel asked, breaking the long, comfortable silence they had settled in. Roxas chuckled and nodded at the red head.

"I already asked, just in case."

The couple then continued their walk in silence, arriving at Axel's house in ten more minutes. Reno wasn't home yet, and of course his mother wasn't. It felt like she never was, Axel could get away with practically anything because of this. Axel opened the door to allow them into the house then went and plopped himself down on the couch, not even bothering to turn on the light. Roxas looked sadly at the red head for a moment then joined him on the couch, grabbing the TV remote and powering it on. Axel sighed and laid down on the couch, placing his head on the blond's lap and staring blankly at the TV.

"Do you know... What Zack wanted to do after school?" Axel asked quietly, once again breaking the silence. Roxas furrowed his brows slightly in thought and bit his lip. He remembered Zack saying once that he wanted to be a hero, but he didn't recall the older boy ever telling him what he wanted to do for a living.

"No clue."

"He wanted to be a soldier. He was gonna go into the military because he wanted to be a hero and protect others." Axel said, fresh tears coming to his eyes as he spoke of the raven haired teenager. Roxas smiled and started to slowly stroke Axel's hair.

"Zack was a really great person." Roxas said, tears welling in his own eyes.

"He was one of the best friends I'd ever had. You know, he'd help me and Reno prank each other? No matter what, he'd always help." Roxas laughed, pausing in his stroking.

"I can believe that."

* * *

><p>It wasn't till almost midnight when Reno walked through the front door. He'd spent most of his time out talking with Aerith and Cloud. They had all cried through out their conversations, which was probably why Reno was so confused when he walked into the living room. The lights were off, the only thing illuminating the room was the soft glow of the TV as it played reruns of Friends. Axel and Roxas were sitting on the couch, not even paying attention to the TV, laughing so hard that Roxas was snorting and half laying down as Axel almost fell off the couch. Axel was trying to talk through his laughter, but it was just an unintelligible mess with how hard he was laughing. Reno looked between the two oddly, a small smile coming to his face as he raised his brow at the couple.<p>

"What on earth is going on here?" Reno asked, causing the two younger teens to look at him while still laughing. Axel continued to laugh as he tried to explain things to the older red head, but he failed horribly. Roxas took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm down enough to speak to Reno.

"We're.. Talking about Zack." Roxas explained through the laughter. Reno tilted his head slightly in confusion.

"I've been talking about Zack for the past four hours and I haven't laughed once." Reno said in exasperation as he took a seat in the chair next to the couch.

"You don't know how to reminisce then." Axel said cheekily, calming down enough to talk to his brother now. Reno furrowed his brows slightly and pursed his lips, then grinned, sitting forward in his seat with his elbows on his knees and hands together.

"Then teach me."

Soon enough, the boys were all laughing, Reno being able to tell many more stories than Axel since he'd known Zack the longest and spent a lot more time with him. This continued all through the night and straight into morning as the two red heads shared old stories of them and their friends. Roxas didn't make it home till about nine the next morning, and honestly, it was disappointing. He could've stayed and talked with the two boys forever, but when they realized that it was light outside Reno had decided that it would be a good idea to bring the blond home. Axel had walked Roxas to the door, handed him a small box, then gave him a kiss and wished him a merry Christmas as he left. Roxas had watched the brothers drive away before entering his house. He headed up to his room immediately, and locked himself inside. He was a bit surprised his mother wasn't awake yet, though he could possibly get away with a couple hours sleep seeing as it was Christmas.

He looked over the small box in his hands. It was a rectangular box and it was wrapped in shiny purple paper with a light blue bow tied around it. Roxas bit his lip, thinking about opening the small box, but deciding against it. He'd open it later that night. After he had Christmas with his mother. It's not like it was going to disappear right?

He placed the present in the top drawer of his desk then climbed into his bed. He didn't care to get in his pajama's or anything. He was too tired to do that anyways. He pulled the curtain on his window to keep out the sun and rested his head on his pillow, expecting to fall asleep immediately. That didn't happen though. After about five minutes of staring at the inside of his eye lids, Roxas snapped open his eyes and sighed. Why couldn't he get to sleep? He was freaking exhausted after spending the entire night talking to Axel and Reno, and yesterday he had woken up early to help his mother clean and decorate the house a bit for his cousins. Roxas flipped onto his back so he was staring at his ceiling and allowed his thoughts to wander. He of course ended up on the thought of Zack. It just didn't seem like it was real. How could someone so kind and caring as Zack be dead? How was that even fair? All he wanted was to protect people, he'd even died doing so. Protecting his best friend. He hadn't even thougby about himself or his own life. He'd put it all on the line to save someone else's life.

_Zack... You definitely became a hero..._

* * *

><p>That night, after Roxas had Christmas with his mother and spent some time with his parents for a change, Roxas finally went into his room. His presents were all sitting in front of his bureau, but there was one he still had yet to open. He was really fucking tired by now. He hadn't gotten to sleep that morning like he'd wanted to, he just stayed up, thinking about Zack and crying randomly till his mother had come knocking on his door to get him up. Then there was spending the day with his father, who did nothing but assault him verbally most of the day. The man had smacked him in the head a couple times through out the day, apparently he was being disrespectful. Though the worst part of the day was when the man had thrown a bottle at his head, but it missed and hit the wall, shattering into a million pieces. He was forced to clean it up and told it was his fault that he'd thrown the bottle at him in the first place then got hit for that too. This one, however, was a punch and he'd gotten another black eye. It wasn't nearly as bad as the last one. It was just a faded purple color just below his eye.<p>

So Roxas, at this point, was bushed. He felt like he could fall asleep any minute, but he had this sneaking suspicion that things were going to be just like that morning and he wouldn't be able to sleep. With a tired sigh Roxas opened the drawer on his desk and pulled out the shiny purple present box he'd placed in there that morning. He examined it for a moment before pulling off the light blue ribbon tied around it and took off the lid. There was a note on the top with his name scrawled across it. He was too tired to read it though, so he took it out and placed it on the desk top. His jaw dropped as he stared down at the item.

Within the small box laid a switchblade. On the bottom it was black and speckled with white dots. The black faded in the middle to white and at the very top was an eight point star, light blue in the middle, fading to a darker blue then changing suddenly to a light yellow. His eyes were wide and his mouth open wider as he stared at the knife. It looked so amazing, the design on it was beautiful and so well done, it had to have been expensive. Roxas honestly couldn't believe the red head had even bought this for him. It had to have cost way more than the lighter he'd bought for Axel. He took the blade out of the box, running his thumb over the picture as a soft smile blossomed on his face. He gripped it tightly in his hand for a moment before stuffing it in his pocket. He decided then and there that not only was he going to keep that knife on him at all times, he was never going to use it for self harm. This meant too much to him, it was so beautiful and came from the person he cared most about. There was no way he would ever taint that blade with his pathetic addiction.

* * *

><p>Axel was laying on the floor of Reno's bed room, hands behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. His eyebrows were furrowed in thought and his eyes sparkled with unshed tears that he refused to let slip from his eyes.<p>

"You sleeping in here?" Reno asked as he entered the room. He'd just taken a shower so his hair was still damp and hanging down against his back as it faintly glistened in the dim light from the older red head's lamp.

"That was the plan." Axel said, unblinkingly.

"Are you gonna sleep on the floor?" He asked, a bit worriedly.

"Where else am I gonna sleep?"

Reno pursed his lips. He knew Axel was right, and normally he wouldn't give it a second thought. But right now, with Zack's death, he was more worried about his brother than ever. Even when their father had died he hadn't been this worried about the younger boy. But Axel hadn't known they're father as well as he knew Zack. And even at a young age he'd been attached to the raven. So Reno knew this was different. He knew this would be worse on the boy. He just wanted to care for him as much as he possibly could. It's not like their mother was going to, and Roxas wasn't there to care for his boyfriend. So it was left up to him.

"Take the bed." Reno said after a moment of silence, nudging the boy with his foot and nodding towards his bed. Axel raised a brow and turned his head slightly to look at his brother.

"Where will you sleep?" Reno sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Well, unless you want to share a bed, I'm gonna sleep on the floor."

"It's your bed Reno. I'm fine sleeping down here, so just go ahead and sleep in your bed." Axel said, turning his back to the older red head and closing his eyes to go to sleep.

"Ax, I wouldn't care if it were the pope's bed, I'd still be telling you to get your ass in it." Reno placed his hands on his hips and assumed his firm, parent like tone of voice.

"Reno, I-"

"I don't wanna hear it! Now get your ass in that bed or your not going to be able to even talk to Roxas for the rest of the week." Reno threatened. Axel turned to look at the older boy. After a moment of staring at him Axel sighed then got off the floor and got into Reno's bed.

"Happy now?" Axel asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Reno grinned at the younger red head.

"Yes, I am." He walked over to the lamp on his desk and switched it off, covering the room in darkness. Not even moments after Reno had taken his place on the floor with a pillow and blanket Axel had spoken up once more.

"How are you doing, Reno?" He sounded kind of nervous asking.

"I feel like shit." He said with a light chuckle. "How about you?"

"Same." Axel said quietly.

"Things will get better, Axel. They always do." Reno said. Axel wanted to believe his brother, he really did. He even wanted things to get better. But how the hell was he supposed to get over the death of someone he cared so much for? How were things supposed to get better when some one so important to you has been ripped from your world? Zack was one of the strongest people he knew, emotion wise. He just didn't know where he would get his strength from now. Reno was about as terrible with emotions as he was, and Demyx he could just forget. The kid practically wore his emotions on his sleeve. He had no clue about Roxas though. He still didn't know how he even dealt with the abuse from his father.

The brothers stayed silent after that, Reno falling asleep quickly. He'd always been like that. He could fall asleep without a single problem. Axel on the other hand stayed awake a while longer, staring at the dark ceiling as he continued to think. He was awake for about a half hour longer before he finally dozed off, falling into a dark dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay guys, so I gotta tell ya, stop whatever you're doing right now and go to Yukisaintclare here on ff and go read her stuff. Because if you like this, then you will like her stuff. And seriously, this girl is just the sweetest. I love her to death, she's the best. So please, if you guys like me or this story at all go give her stuff a read. She really is awesome. And please, do be nice to her, no flames and shit. If you don't like her story or something, don't be a dick, be a dude and don't leave a nasty comment. Seriously, she's the sweetest thing I've ever met, the girl makes me wanna cry out of such sheer happiness, and I'll have to kick some ass if your a douche to her. So yeah, go read. Now. Please.<strong>

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all next time! Much love guys! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon, and good evening!**


	16. Chapter 16

**DatGuest,**

**Well thank you very much hun! I really hope you do! If you decide just let me know what you would like for a plushie and I'll get to work on it :)**

**Thank you, I'm very glad you liked it! Yes, Zack's death has been terrible to write as I'm sure it's been just as terrible to read.**

* * *

><p>Roxas shoved his hands in the pockets of his black slacks as he stepped out of his parents car. He'd tried to convince them that he didn't need a ride, his father had even agreed, but his mother insisted upon driving him to the funeral. She said that as his parents they were supposed to be there for him through these hard times. His father only agreed to driving him though. And that had taken some convincing. The wind was blowing hard that day, causing the trees to sway, though the sky was clear as the sun shone down upon them. He looked out at the vast amount of headstones placed in rows on the green grass. Some were new, others were worn or broken from age.<p>

"Alright sweetie, I'm sorry I couldn't convince your father to let us stay, but we'll see you when you get home. Try not to get into trouble." His mother said, smiling sweetly at him from the window.

"Come 'ere boy." His father slurred from the passengers seat. Roxas sighed under his breath and walked around the vehicle. He looked at his father expectantly, keeping out of arms length. He didn't wanna get grabbed by the man. At least if he was far enough back he'd have a chance to run from him.

"You better be home by eight." Roxas paused in surprise then slowly nodded. That was quite generous of the man.

With that said, the man shooed him away. His mother smiled and waved then drove off. Roxas turned and looked out at the beach where Zack's funeral was being held. He could see that Reno, Axel and Demyx were already there with a couple other people. With a deep breath Roxas started his slow trek to the funeral. As he got closer he could see Axel was sitting in the front row, his head hanging over the chair and his hands intertwined as he covered his eyes.

Demyx was the first to notice him, waving as he forced a smile. He waved back but stayed on his path to his red haired boyfriend. Reno noticed him next and went to call out to him but Roxas shook his head and held a finger to his lips to tell him to shush. He came up behind the red head, grabbing his wrists and pulling his hands away from his face. Axel's eyebrows furrowed and he slowly opened his eyes to see the blond smiling down at him softly. His eyes were red and puffy from crying and there was bags under them, showing that he hadn't been sleeping much. Roxas had to admit though, he hadn't really been sleeping either. The most he got was when he randomly passed out through out the day from utter exhaustion.

"Hey baby." Axel said, smiling slightly at the sight of his boyfriend.

"Hey. How you feeling?" Roxas asked, dropping one of Axel's wrists so he could slowly caress the taller boy's face.

"Shitty." He said with a light chuckle. "How about you?"

Roxas shrugged, sitting on the edge of the chair behind him and placing his forehead against Axel's.

"The same. How long you been here?"

"Since nine this morning."

"That sucks." Considering it was now one in the afternoon, that was a really long time for the red head to have been there. But honestly, he felt like an idiot for saying that. Seriously, this was the first time he'd seen Axel since Christmas Eve, and here was his boyfriend, utterly depressed about someone he was so close to that he was like family having died and all Roxas could do was ask him pointless questions then tell him that it sucked?

Well, there wasn't much he could do about it now right?

They sat like that for a while longer, foreheads pressed together as Roxas closed his eyes and loosely wrapped his arms around Axel's neck. After some time Axel moved his head down so he could nudge Roxas's forehead with his nose. Roxas made a small hum of recognition.

"Come sit next to me." Axel said quietly, rubbing Roxas's arm. With a slight nod, Roxas stood and hopped over the seat next to the red head's. The moment he slid into the seat beside the boy, Axel's head dropped onto his shoulder and he laced his fingers with Roxas'. Roxas rested his head against the red head's and watched as the few people there bustled about the place. Was anyone besides Reno and that blond kid even doing anything? He could hear Reno telling the other boy what to do as he moved a couple things around and the blond was doing a lot of carrying. The girl there, who he could swear he met before but couldn't remember for the life of him, was sitting down by the shore placing flowers in the water and Demyx just appeared to be walking around aimlessly, kicking at the sand.

Roxas looked around at the decorations on the beach. Next to the stand for Zack's coffin was torches, two on each side and tipped over as if they were making a fan. Circling around the stand and all the chairs were flowers. Various types of flowers too. Most of them appeared to be yellow lilies though. The chairs were all white and made of wood with garlands tied together and hanging off the backs of the chairs. Roxas couldn't help but be amused by how tropical it all was.

"Did you like your present?" Axel asked suddenly, braking the long, comfortable silence they had fallen into. Roxas paused for a moment before remembering what the red head was talking about. He slipped a hand into his pocket and produced the switchblade he'd received from his boyfriend.

"You mean this one?" He asked a bit teasingly. Axel smiled, rolling his eyes and taking the knife from Roxas.

"No, the other one."

"I almost threw away my other knife away when I saw it." Axel laughed as he sat up, opening the knife and looking over the sharp blade as it gleamed in the sun light.

"I had a girl at school paint the design on it. She even gave it this clear coat that makes sure it doesn't chip or fade." Roxas's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"I thought you bought it like that." Roxas said quietly in awe.

"Nope. This is one of a kind. Just like you." Axel smiled and placed a kiss on Roxas's cheek, causing the blond to blush.

* * *

><p>The funeral, Roxas supposed, had gone well. By two people had quickly started to gather at the funeral and they quietly started playing some of Zack's favorite music, quietly because much of the ravens music was very loud or upbeat. Instead of a coffin, Zack's body lay in a small boat big enough for three and it sat upon the stand in front of all the chairs. Everyone had payed their respects, resting yellow lilies in the boat with Zack. The ceremony had passed slowly, starting with a blessing and a song that Zack had apparently asked Reno to play when he died. Reno told him that at the time he'd just laughed and said okay, figuring that he'd probably die before the raven. After that, Reno had also given the eulogy. When that finished they invited people up to talk more about Zack and his life. Some shared memories, others poems. Axel was the last person to go up and speak though. He'd been nervous about going up, telling Roxas he had no clue what to say. Roxas had just smiled and squeezed his hand, telling him to speak from his heart. So when he did finally get up...<p>

"Hey everyone. My name is Axel." He paused there and looked to Roxas. The blond motioned for him to take a deep breath, and when he obeyed he sent him an encouraging smile and urged him to continue.

"I've known Zack since I was born. He was always there for me, just like a brother. And over the years I had come to accept him into my family. He was the only person my mother would ever allow to stay over the house. He was a good person and an amazing friend. He always tried to help people, sometimes even when they didn't want it. He just liked to help people. That was probably why even through the rough times of my relationship with my brother he tried to always keep us together, in hopes of us patching things up. I only wish I had listened to him sooner. These last two years of Zack's life, he had to listen to all our bickering and my stupid rants. Right now if I could say anything to him it would probably be thank you. Because he was always so patient. He never gave up on me, and he was always there. Over the years, he became my rock. Now that he's gone... I don't know what I'm going to do. But I do know that Zack would want me to 'be strong and soldier on'. So that's what I'm going to do. And anytime that I feel depressed, or start to miss him I'll just remind myself that he's not really gone. Because inside people's memories he can live forever." Axel turned and looked at Zack's peaceful face inside the boat. His eyes welled with tears and he smiled softly at the raven. He whispered something to the boy's corpse then moved back to his seat beside his blond boyfriend.

"You did great." Roxas whispered, squeezing Axel's hand and smiling at the red head. Axel smiled back and leaned his head against Roxas'.

"Thanks."

After that they had played another song in his memory then the minister blessed him. It was sun down when Reno, Axel, Zack's father and the blond boy from before got up and carried the boat over to the shore. The minister then had everyone join them by the water. The torches by the stand where the boat had been resting prior was brought over to the shore where Reno, Axel, Zack's father and the blond man, Roxas had yet to meet, took them and lit the front of the boat on fire. They pushed it farther into the water and everyone watched as the entire boat began to catch fire and drift farther into the water. A couple of the people started to sing a soft song. When they finished the minister said a quick prayer then thanked everyone for coming and dismissed them.

Some people left, some stayed to talk to Zack's family, some just stayed to talk. But Axel stayed by the shore, seating himself on the sand and watched as the boat slowly burned and Roxas stayed by him. They were there till night fall. When the boat had drifted far enough and the fire dwindled Reno had taken the boys to go get something to eat before taking them home.

* * *

><p>Roxas slammed his hands down on the desk before him, causing the red head behind it to jump and look up in surprise. However, upon seeing his blond boyfriend he smiled.<p>

"Hey Roxy. What's up?" Axel said, leaning back in his chair as he looked up at the blond.

"We're going out this weekend." Roxas stated. Axel raised a brow and tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Excuse me?"

"We're going out."

"Why?" Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Cause I'm sick of you being all pouty-"

"I have not been all pouty!" Axel quickly interrupted. Roxas simply continued as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"-and I want to cheer you up. So don't make any plans for the weekend got it?" Axel slowly nodded, still confused about the whole thing but figuring it would be best to just agree.

"Where are we going?" He asked after a moment of silence. Roxas smiled mischievously at the red head.

"Don't worry about that. I've got it all planned." Axel's eyes widened slightly in worry, but he decided to just shake it off.

"I still haven't been pouty!" Axel quickly said.

"Yeah you have."

* * *

><p>That Friday after school, Roxas didn't get on the bus and Axel didn't ride home with his brother. Instead the two met up at the school gates. Axel had gotten there first then waited about ten minutes before Roxas finally showed up. When he asked what had taken so long though the boy had just waved it off, saying he'd forgotten a book in his last class and had to go all the way back.<p>

"So where are we going?" Axel asked as they walked down the street. At the moment, he was just following Roxas to wherever he decided to drag him.

"You'll see." He replied, smiling as he lead the red head around. Finally they arrived at the train station and Axel furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Roxas, what the hell are we doing here?" Axel asked curiously.

"We're going for a trip. It's only a half hour train ride." Roxas said with a smile. That's all he'd tell the red head though as he dragged him onto the train. Through out the ride they chatted randomly and watched the scenery slowly change before them. When they finally arrived Roxas hopped off the train and spun around to look at the red head, grinning and holding his arms out wide.

"Welcome to Twilight Town!" He said happily. Axel's eyes widened and all he could do was stare at the blond. After some time Roxas frowned and his eyebrows pinched together in worry.

"Axel? You okay?" Roxas asked. The red head slowly nodded. When he finally registered the look on his boyfriends face he quickly went about setting it right.

"Oh God, I'm sorry Roxas. I am excited, especially about spending the weekend with you, I'm just surprised. I've never really been outside of Destiny Islands." Axel said sheepishly as he went to hug his boyfriend. Roxas sighed in relief.

"Thank God. Come on, I wanna show you around!" He said cheerfully then he dragged the red head out of the train station, Axel quietly laughing at how excited the boy was. He was like a puppy when he got like this, he couldn't help but find him adorable.

When they stepped outside Axel found they were in a large empty circle. On either side of the steps were green bushes and off to his right was what appeared to be the entrance to a tunnel with a large number 5 hanging above it. Roxas grabbed Axel's wrist and dragged him over to the brick railing across the way. Axel gasped as he looked down at the large city. There were buildings everywhere and train tracks even lifted above it all.

"That's not all." Roxas said, turning around and tapping Axel so he would do the same. His eyes widened as he turned and looked up at the large clock tower attached to the train station.

"This place is amazing." Axel said breathily. Roxas grinned at this.

"Isn't it? Come on, there's a lot more to see." Roxas then dragged the red head towards a gathering of buildings down a slanted street. By night fall Axel had seen the market street a back ally with a hidden away spot where Roxas used to hang out along with the building he used to live in and a place called the Sand Lot. As it was getting dark though Roxas lead Axel to a large hole in the back of the market street that lead to a large forest. Axel had been kind of wary of entering, seeing as it was dark out and God only knew what was in that forest. But Roxas somehow managed to talk him into it and lead him through with ease to another opening in the forest. As they exited there stood a large gate with a mansion just behind it. The pillars in the yard were broken and collapsed on each other and inside the gate and brick wall stood a large mansion.

"Woah." Was all Axel could manage. It felt like that was all he'd been able to say the entire day to be honest. Roxas just simply smiled and dragged him over to the mansion.

"Wait." Axel said, just before Roxas could open the door.

"I don't think we should just barge in there. Doesn't someone live in there?" Axel said. Roxas raised a brow as an amused smile spread across his face.

"Axel, no one's lived here for years. It will be fine, trust me." And with that Roxas opened the door and revealed the inside of the mansion. Inside there was broken objects on the floor, but other wise the place appeared to be in good shape.

"What do you think?" Roxas asked as they stepped inside.

"It's amazing."

"Good. This is where we're staying for the weekend." Axel stiffened and turned to look at Roxas with wide worried eyes.

"Here? Don't you think this place is kind of creepy though?" Axel asked. Roxas shook his head and smiled teasingly.

"No way. Why, you're not scared are you?"

"Of course not!" Roxas chuckled.

"Good. Now come here, you're really gonna like this room." Roxas dragged him over to a door to the right of them. There was a lot of rubble in the way, but he quickly pushed it away and opened the door, revealing a large room with an old white couch, a beige chair and a fireplace. In front of the couch was a large fluffy navy blue carpet. Soon after that the two went outside to collect fire wood, deciding they would wait till morning to explore the rest of the house. Axel was quick to start a fire then the two snuggled up on the plush navy rug for the rest of the night.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's that. I do hope you enjoyed. Thank you all so much for your love an support, I really appreciate it! I'll see you next chapter! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening! Much love!<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**DatGuest,**

**Indeed it was, it was just terrible to write. I have been planning Twilight Town since they went off for that first weekend to the island. I've been so excited about it and what better time to bring it in than when Axel is all sad about Zack?**

**I sure will love, thank you for all the support, it means so much :)**

**Quick warning right here. Just so you are all aware. There will be sex in this chapter. I am fully aware of the risk I am taking with this, but you know, I was reading this stuff by 13 and for me, mature means adult content. You can't buy mature materials till your 18, a legal adult. And a lot of mature things contain sexual acts. Thus, I am revolting and taking a risk. Yolo right? It's not like ff has an MA rating anyways. So yeah, fuck the world! I do what I want!**

* * *

><p>Roxas was awoken by the bright light of the sun shining through the curtain into the small room. He squeezed his eyes back shut and turned over on the plush carpet to snuggle into his boyfriends chest to block out the sun, but quickly found he wasn't there. He immediately sat up when he realized this and looked around the room in confusion. Axel was no where to be seen.<p>

With a small pout, Roxas got off the floor and headed out of the room in search of the other boy. It was the weekend, so he couldn't comprehend why Axel was already awake and walking about the large, empty mansion. Though he wondered why Axel hadn't woken him up as well. He'd much rather have woken up to Axel rather than an empty room with a burned out fire.

He checked the upstairs first, looking through both the rooms, then as he headed back down stairs when he saw a flash of red out the back doors. He hurried down the stairs and over to the door, looking out the glass at Axel. He was sitting on the cement step, his legs pulled up to his chest as he stared up at the sky. Roxas smiled at the scene then opened the door and stepped out, Axel turning around at the sound of the door opening then smiled up at the blond.

"Mornin' Roxy."

"G'morning." Roxas mumbled as he sat down beside Axel and rested his head on the taller boy's shoulder.

"What you doing out here?"

Axel shrugged, making Roxas whine slightly in protest and Axel chuckled at the noise.

"Nothing really, just bored."

"Why didn't you wake me up then?" Roxas asked, pausing to yawn. "I could have taken you around town some more."

"I didn't want to disturb you. You looked pretty tired, I thought it would be good to let you get your sleep."

"I'm not tired, I sleep just fine." Axel raised a brow to this and looked over to the blond on his shoulder.

"I didn't say anything about how well you sleep. Are you having trouble sleeping, Roxas?"

Roxas was silent, and for a moment Axel actually thought he fell back asleep. He could hear his breathing though, it wasn't steady enough for him to be sleeping. He wiggled his shoulder a bit to get the boy's attention then asked him once more.

"Roxas." He said sternly. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

More silence, then.

"Define sleeping."

"Roxas! Why haven't you told me about this?" Axel asked, worry as evident in his voice as it was on his face.

Roxas sighed and removed his head from Axel's shoulder, staring at the ground with furrowed brows and a small frown.

"It's not a big deal, Axel."

"But it is a big deal. It's not healthy Roxas." Axel dropped his head in his hands, rubbing the palms into his eyes.

"God, I knew there was something up with you. I can't believe I didn't actually manage to put two and two together!"

He suddenly stood at this point, a hand placed on his hip as he started pacing in front of the blond and ran a hand through his hair.

"I feel so stupid now! All of the signs were there, the irritability, the lack of concentration in class, you seem more stressed out. Hell, the bags under your eyes should have been a dead fucking give away! Some fucking psychiatrist I'm gonna make. I couldn't even fucking tell when my own damn boyfriend is having problems sleeping!"

"You want to be a psychiatrist?" Roxas asked curiously. This was news to him. He knew that Axel was pretty observant and would make a really good psychiatrist, but he hadn't ever told Roxas that was what he wanted to do.

"Yes!" Axel snapped, causing the blond to jump in surprise and move slightly as if to get up. Axel placed a hand over his mouth as he realized how harsh that had come out.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." Axel said, gentler this time.

"It's okay. I know you didn't." Roxas said, his whole body relaxing as he curled into himself. Axel sat back down beside the blond and wrapped an arm around him. They sat in silence for a moment, Axel trying to calm down a bit more before he spoke and Roxas waiting patiently for him to speak.

"Roxas... Will you please tell me why you've been having trouble sleeping? I want to help you if I can." Axel finally said. Roxas thought it over for a moment then shrugged slightly.

"I guess it probably has to do with Zack's death. That's when it started at least. I've been staying up, at the most, two nights in a row before I crash then I only get about two to three hours sleep. Last night was actually the first good nights sleep I've had since Christmas Eve."

"Oh Roxy... Why didn't you tell me?" Axel was now rubbing his shoulder as he pulled him in a bit closer.

"I didn't want you to worry about me. You already had Zack's death to deal with, I didn't want to be a burden."

"Roxas, you could never be a burden."

They were silent once more after this, Roxas staring out at the forest as Axel looked up at the sky. Neither one really knew what to say at this point, or rather, dared not say it.

"Just..." Axel started, breaking the short lived silence between the two. "Just tell me next time okay? I promise, you won't be a burden to me Roxas."

"I promise." Roxas muttered.

"You wanna go back into town and look around some more? We didn't really have a lot of time yesterday." Axel bit the inside of his lip in thought for a moment.

"You don't wanna try to get more sleep?" Axel asked worriedly. Roxas chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine for now."

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

><p>Axel and Roxas stood in the market street, Axel looking at all the objects for sale, trying to decide what to buy, as Roxas stood there bored out of his mind.<p>

"Axel, could you please hurry up?" He said impatiently. He'd been standing there for ten minutes at the least as he waited for Axel to decide.

"I'll be done in a minute." Axel said, waving off the blond. Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes as the woman behind the counter giggled.

"You're friend seems pretty indecisive. Are you guys new here?" She asked Roxas while Axel was distracted.

"He is, I lived here till just a couple months ago." Roxas said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh really? Decided to come back for a visit then?"

"Kind of." Roxas said with a small smile.

"Roxas?" A familiar voice called from behind the couple. Roxas looked over his shoulder curiously and a smile immediately broke out on his face as he saw his old friend, Pence.

"Hey Pence! How's it going?" Roxas said as the chubby boy ran up to him.

"Pretty good, how about you?" Pence said as he placed his hands behind his head and crossed one foot behind the other.

"Couple rough patches, but good I guess. How's Hayner and Olette?"

"They're good. They're waiting for me at the usual spot if you wanna come see them."

"I think I might." Roxas glanced over to Axel. "If I have time."

"So is this a friend of yours?" Pence asked, gesturing to Axel. Roxas grinned and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"More like boyfriend. But yeah, I'd call him a friend too." Pence's mouth shaped an 'o' as he nodded slightly in understanding.

"Axel." Roxas said, trying to get the red head's attention.

"Just one more minute Roxy." He said. He was now rubbing his chin as he continued to examine the trinkets. Roxas furrowed his brows and placed his hands on his hips.

"Axel!"

"What?" He whinnied, finally looking at the blond with a small pout on his face. He looked over slightly when he noticed the look on the boy's face and saw Pence standing there.

"Oh hi!" He said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Axel, this is Pence. Pence, this is Axel. Pence and I used to hang out with a couple other friends till I moved."

"It's nice to meet you, Pence." Axel said, holding out his hand for the boy to shake.

"And you too." Pence smiled and took the offered hand.

"If you hurry up you can go meet Hayner and Olette too." Roxas said.

"Oh, okay! Just five more minutes?" Axel asked, folding his hands in a pleading manner and biting his lip.

"Axel!"

"Okay okay, two more minutes!"

"I'm gonna hold you to that." Axel simply waved him off and Roxas sighed in exasperation, turning back to Pence with a small smile.

"You see what I have to put up with?"

* * *

><p>After Axel finally purchased a couple key chains from the store and Pence finished his errand, picking up some vegetables for his mother, the boys went back to the usual spot where Hayner and Olette were arguing over school work or going to see a movie.<p>

"Hayner, you can't keep slacking off, if you rush your work your going to fail your classes!" Olette said, standing over the lazing blond with her hands on her hips. Roxas and Pence gave each other a knowing look then continued to watch the scene before them, waiting to see how long it would take them to notice their presence.

"We still have an entire day till the weekends over Olette. I've been wanting to see this movie for months, can't we please go?" Hayner pleaded. He'd yet to use his puppy dog eyes. They tended to get him no where most of the time, but you never knew with Olette. She caved every now and again.

"Hayner, your going to get held back a year if you fail your classes, do you want that?"

"If it means getting to see this movie, then yes."

"Hayner!"

"Olette!" Roxas whinnied in a mock version of Hayner's voice. Hayner and Olette quickly turned to see who intruded on their argument. Olette squealed in delight upon seeing Roxas and ran over, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Roxas! Oh my god, we've missed you so much!" Olette practically screamed in Roxas' ear, causing the boy to cringe and pull away slightly. She apologized quickly as she pulled away from Roxas. Hayner hopped off the old couch with a grin plastered on his face.

"How's it going man? It's been what, two, three months?" Hayner said as he slapped Roxas on the back.

"About that long I'd say. How have things been here?"

"Ah, same old same old. You know what it's like." Hayner said, waving his hand around in dismissal.

"Oh, so you got beat by Seifer again then?" Roxas teased, grinning cheekily at his friend.

"Ah, shut up." Hayner turned away with a pout and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So Roxas, who's your friend?" Olette asked curiously as she looked over the tall red head beside Roxas.

"This is Axel. My boyfriend. Axel, this is Hayner and Olette." Roxas said, gesturing to everyone as he introduced them.

"Oh~ so this is your new boyfriend huh?" Olette asked, nudging Roxas with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Wait a minute, what happened to Xigbar again?" Hayner asked, looking confusedly at his friends. Roxas and Olette face palmed as Pence sighed and shook his head.

"He cheated on Roxas, Hayner. That's not really important right now though, and I'm sure Roxas doesn't want to talk about it." Olette said in exasperation.

"Come on, sit and talk to us." Olette and Pence dragged Axel over to the couch and sat him down in the middle. Roxas chuckled and shook his head before taking a seat beside the red head.

"So, what has our little Roxy-Poxy been up to since he moved?" Hayner said, ruffling his gold spikes. Roxas swat away the offending hand.

"We wanna know _everything_!" Pence said, grinning as he took a seat on one of the boxes and placed his head in his hands.

"Have you been taking good care of our Roxy?" Olette asked in a motherly tone.

"How much do they know?" Axel asked under his breath. Though he was being quite vague, Roxas understood what he was asking about and responded with;

"About as much as Demyx." With a slight nod Axel grinned at the others.

"Not much really. Same old teenage drama and stuff." Axel replied, sitting back on the couch.

"Oh come on, Axel! Don't hold out on us!" Olette whinnied.

"Yeah, we said we wanted to know everything." Hayner said.

Axel looked over to Roxas, who already looked extremely embarrassed by the conversation.

"Sorry Roxy." Axel grinned. Roxas sighed in defeat.

"I hate you."

"Love you too." Axel pecked the blond on the cheek then began telling them about random things that had happened over the months.

* * *

><p>"Oh! Oh! You remember the time Roxas snorted milk out his nose?" Olette asked as she bent over in laughter.<p>

"Or how about the time when we were younger and Seifer dared us to go into the old mansion and Roxas ran out after just three minutes?" Hayner said, grinning and nudging the blond.

"Hayner, that was you." Roxas said, smirking slightly.

"No it wasn't!"

"Yes it was! I remember, cause the floor collapsed and I got stuck, but you ran out screaming about ghosts! I was in there for an hour before Xigbar had come and got me free!"

"Yeah, I remember that! Hayner wouldn't go anywhere near the forest for three years after that!" Pence said with a laugh.

"Oh shut up, Pence." Hayner said, blushing as he crossed his arms over his chest. The four laughed at Hayner's misfortune.

"I don't think I could believe that if it were true. Roxas seems like one of the strongest people I know." Axel said, slinging his arm around the blond and rubbing his shoulder.

"You're a liar." Roxas said, playfully pushing the red head.

"Believe what you like, but I know it's true." Axel said, flicking the boy's nose and grinning as Roxas scrunched it up.

"So Roxas, what's it like at Destiny Islands?" Olette asked curiously.

"Oh it's beautiful! We're at the bottom of a dormant volcano and there's just palm trees everywhere. And you can see the ocean from almost anywhere, it's amazing. The only thing is, it's really warm there, it's been kind of hard to get used to." Roxas said, smiling at the thought of his new home.

"A volcano? Isn't that scary?" Olette asked, looking wide eyed at her friend. Roxas and Axel chuckled then shook their heads.

"Not really, like I said it's dormant."

"And there's not really any chance of it becoming active again." Axel explained. Olette's mouth formed an 'o' as she nodded in understanding.

"Well, it's been great seeing you guys again, but Axel and I should probably get going. I've got a couple more things planned for the day." Roxas said, stretching as he stood from his seat.

"Oh yeah, we gotta go see that movie anyways." Hayner said with a grin.

"I didn't agree to that, Hayner!" Olette said, as she stood and placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh come on, Olette. If you guys go to the movie now you can do home work afterwards." Roxas said, grinning at Hayner who was silently thanking him. Olette thought it over for a moment before she finally sighed in defeat.

"Fine, we can go see the movie." Olette said. Hayner threw his hands up at the success then pulled Roxas into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Roxas! You're like a God!" Roxas chuckled and pushed the blond off him.

"You're welcome, but I'm no God."

"Aw, Roxy's so modest!" Hayner teased, pinching the boy's cheeks. Roxas slapped the hands away and laughed.

"Shut up, Hayner."

"Well, I hope you come and visit us again Roxas, we really miss you!" Olette said as she pulled Roxas into a hug.

"Yeah, I definitely will." Roxas said, returning the hug.

"You take good care of our Roxy, okay?" She looked sternly at Axel and pointed a finger at him. Axel grinned and held his hands up in defense.

"I will, I will. I promise." Axel said.

They all said their goodbyes after this and went their separate ways, Roxas and Axel heading toward the market street as the trio went towards the sand lot.

"So where to now Roxas?" Axel asked as they walked along the street.

"I was thinking of getting some food then bringing you to sunset terrace." Roxas said as he looked around the shops.

"Sounds good." Axel stretched and placed his hands behind his head.

"Well well well, look what we have here!" A voice said from behind the couple. Roxas sighed, as he knew that voice far too well, and he slowly turned around to face the older boy.

"It's our favorite little chicken-wuss! And he's got a new friend!" Seifer said with his signature smirk. "What are you doing here, I thought you moved away?"

"I did. And now I'm back for a visit. That's not a crime is it?" Roxas said, crossing his arms over his chest. He was something that Roxas did not miss about Twilight Town, though to be honest, if he had a choice between Seifer and Larxene he'd choose Seifer. Though the older boy did tend to butt heads with Roxas, he wasn't nearly as terrible as that wretched bitch back in Destiny Islands.

"It's not, but if I'd known you were coming I would have thrown you a nice welcome back. Guess we'll just have to take care of that now though, right?"

"Sounds like a blast, but I've got better things to do than kick your ass again." Roxas smirked at the memory.

"That fight was just play. I didn't take that seriously, that's why you beat me. You'd lose if we went head to head in a serious battle." Seifer said, turning his nose up to the younger boy.

"Why do I have trouble believing that? Oh right, because it's you!"

"Are you insinuating that I'm a liar?" Seifer asked as he stepped forward, looking ready to punch Roxas in the face. Roxas squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes at the taller teen.

"I'm insinuating something, but it's a lot worse than a liar."

"You wanna go chicken-wuss?"

"Yeah I wanna go, I've been trying to leave since you stopped me."

"Oh haha. Always the smart one huh Roxas?"

"Yeah, but then again, it's not that hard to be smarter than you."

"Oh you are asking for it kid!"

"Jesus Christ, what's it gonna take to get you to leave me alone?" Roxas spat, his hands clenching into tight fists at his sides.

"Why don't you come to the Sand Lot and find out?" Seifer asked with a smirk.

"Why don't you go f-" Roxas started, getting cut off by a hand being placed over his mouth.

"I think that's enough, Roxy. Let's go before I have to pick you up and carry you out of here." Axel whispered into the blond's ear. Roxas's brows furrowed in irritation, but with a sigh he agreed.

"Hey butt out red, this is none of your business!" Seifer barked, glaring at Axel. Axel narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"I beg to differ. You made it my business when you started picking a fight with, Roxas."

"And what the hell are you gonna do about it?" Axel pulled his lighter out of his pocket and looked it over for a moment then turned to Seifer and grinned.

"You don't really want to know. Now, come on Roxas."

With that, Axel dragged the shorter boy away from the pissed blond and towards a near by restaurant. The boy's stayed silent after that, only speaking to order their food. They carried on like that, all the way from the restaurant to the trains and up the hill in Sunset Terrace. When they sat down on one of the benches Roxas finally spoke.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking worriedly at the red head.

"Yeah, I'm good. Why?" Axel asked, looking confused.

"You're quiet. That's my job." Roxas said with a small chuckle. Axel smiled and nodded slightly.

"Just kind of lost in thought you know?" Roxas nodded in understanding and the two fell back into silence for a moment, Roxas digging through the bag of food for their sandwiches.

"Did you have fun today?" Axel asked as he took his sandwich from Roxas.

"Yeah, it was nice seeing all my friends and getting to hang out with them for a while. What about you?"

"Of course. It was cool getting to meet your friends and hear more about your life. It was kind of like talking to your mom." Axel said with a small chuckle. Roxas blushed but smiled none the less.

"My mom's not nearly as bad as them. So long as she doesn't have the photo album that is." Axel laughed and wrapped his arm around the blond's shoulder.

"I like your mom, she's cool." Roxas chuckled and nodded in agreement. After this the two ate the rest of their meal in silence as they watched the sunset. It was dark by the time they headed back to the mansion.

* * *

><p>Roxas sat in front of the fire place, watching the fire dwindle away as he waited for Axel to come back with more fire wood. He was lost in his thoughts by this point, wondering if he should really go through with his plan. After all, he'd been planning this weekend all week. He wanted it to be perfect for Axel, but now that he was here, he was having second thoughts about his plans. He knew he was ready, but was Axel? He'd had sex before, plenty of times after his first (Xigbar was a horny bastard) but Axel hadn't right? As far as Roxas knew, he was the red head's first anything when it came to relationships. Meaning, he'd be taking Axel's virginity.<p>

He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why he was getting so worked up about being Axel's first. It wasn't like he'd never taken anyone's virginity. After all, he was Xigbar's first. This was different though right? Roxas had been a virgin at the time too. Xigbar wasn't the only one losing something right? That made a big difference.

Roxas sighed and dropped his head. He needed to get out of his thoughts.

At that moment, said red head came walking through the door with a bundle of wood in his arms. Roxas watched as Axel bent over to place the wood next to the fire place, then tossed a couple logs into the dying fire. He poked at the fire for a moment as he waited for the logs to catch fire then sat beside Roxas. He wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders and Roxas curled into his side. They sat like that for a moment before Roxas took a deep breath, having made his decision, and placed himself atop Axel's lap. Axel's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sudden action.

"Roxas? What are y-" The red head was cut off as Roxas pressed his soft lips to Axel's slightly chapped ones in a heated kiss. Roxas could feel his cheeks burning as he closed his eyes. He'd never been the one to initiate sex before, he'd always left that to Xigbar, seeing as the older boy wanted sex much more often then he had.

Axel's eyes were even wider at this point, but as the kiss carried on they slowly slid shut and he slipped his hand behind the boy's neck in an attempt to deepen the kiss. Axel's lips slowly parted to allow his tongue to slide out and press against the blond's lips, silently begging for entrance. Roxas couldn't help but smile slightly into the kiss as he parted his lips, letting the slick, warm muscle slide into his mouth.

Over the two year relationship he'd had with Xigbar, Roxas had found that he preferred being on the bottom. Being the dominant one just felt weird to Roxas. So he didn't even bother trying to fight Axel for dominance, but rather allowed the red head to explore his mouth.

They finally pulled out of the kiss when their lungs started to burn from the lack of oxygen, both panting as they tried to regain their breath. Axel took this momentary break to press light kisses along Roxas's jawline, pausing at his ear to nip at the lobe before he continued down his neck. The light kisses turned into light sucking and nipping as he made his way down to the junction between his neck and collarbone. He sucked hard on the pale skin, making a dark red mark on the boy's neck. Roxas moaned lightly at the action and tilted his head to allow the red head more access. However, instead of continuing the assault on the blond's neck, he pulled back enough to shed Roxas of his shirt and reveal his pale chest. It was littered in bruises, some old and fading as other's were fresh and purple. He ran his finger's lightly over one of the larger dark bruises in wonder.

Roxas blushed darkly in embarrassment as Axel continued to stare at his chest and tried to cover himself with his arms. Axel was quick to push his arms away from his chest and pressed a chaste kiss to the blond's lips.

"Don't hide." Axel whispered, looking a bit sad. Roxas felt the burning in his cheeks increase and he averted his gaze to Axel's neck.

"But, what about my-" Axel cut him off by pressing his lips to the blond's once more.

"You look fine, Roxas. I was just a bit surprised. I love your body, even if it is bruised." Axel said, smiling to reassure the boy. Roxas took a deep breath then smiled back at the red head.

Axel continued on after that, pressing his lips back to Roxas' for another passionate kiss as his hands wandered up his torso to his pert pink nipples. He ran his thumbs over the hard nubs, earning a small gasp from the blond. Axel took the opportunity to slip his tongue into Roxas's mouth and he started to roll the nubs between his fingers.

Axel slowly slipped his hands around Roxas's waist, shifting their positions while still kissing Roxas so that he could lay back on the plush rug beneath them. Axel now towered over him, some of the longer strands of his red hair falling over his shoulders. When Axel broke away from the kiss, Roxas's breath caught in his throat as he gazed up at the red head. The soft glow of the fire illuminated his hair so it look as though it had come alive with fire, just like it had in the sunset that day in the boat, and his eyes sparkled in the orange light. Sadly, he didn't have very long to appreciate the scene as Axel ducked down and started sucking at his neck again, slowly making his way down to his nipples. He took one of the nubs in his mouth as he rolled the other between his fingers. He elicited a low moan from the boy when he bit down on the nipple then slowly licked at the abused nub.

Axel then suddenly sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his own tanned chest. Roxas licked his lips slightly as he looked over the lean muscle of the red head's chest.

As Roxas' eye's trailed farther down the torso he saw a sparkle from the corner of his eye in the dim fire light. He lowered his gaze to Axel's hips, furrowing his brows slightly in confusion.

"Are those piercings?" He asked, sitting up on his elbows as he continued to stare at the little metal balls sticking out of his boyfriends hips. Axel glanced down at his hips then looked back to Roxas with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, do you like them?"

Roxas stared at them for a moment with wide eyes, Axel watching as his pupils dilated, then suddenly flipped their positions so he was now sitting on top of Axel. His eyes widened slightly at the sudden action as Roxas pressed a firm kiss to the red head's mouth.

"I love them." He said when they broke apart. He then quickly ducked his head down, biting at Axel's neck then quickly making his way down his chest, biting and sucking till he got to his hips. He bit down harshly on the side of his hip, making a nice red mark and making Axel quietly groan. He then kissed at the new wound before moving his mouth down, just below the piercing, then sucked and nipped at the sensitive skin. Though, when his teeth grazed across the skin between the piercing Axel hissed in pain, making Roxas look up curiously.

"Careful Roxas, they still hurt to touch." Axel said. Roxas blushed then lightly kissed the skin in apology. He continued biting at his hips after that, careful not to hurt the skin around the piercings. When he was satisfied he pulled back and looked over his work. There was about nine red blotches on his hips and four random bite marks.

When Roxas was done Axel flipped their positions once more then pressed his lips to Roxas' in another heated kiss, this one a bit rougher than the first two. As they continued to kiss Axel set about unbuttoning and zipping Roxas' pants, his hand brushing across the constrained bulge as he did. Roxas gasped and whinnied at the touch and bucked his hips slightly. Axel chuckled into the kiss.

"Be patient." He muttered into the kiss. Roxas huffed, but did as he was told, allowing his hands to wander along the red head's chest as he waited for him to get to the good part.

When Axel finally finished with Roxas' pants he pushed them down with the boxer's in one swoop, releasing Roxas' erection from the confines of his pants. Roxas pushed his pants off the rest of the way and kicked them to the side. He moaned as Axel wrapped his long fingers around his shaft and slowly started to pump the length.

"Oh God, Axel." Roxas moaned as he started bucking into Axel's hand. With his other hand Axel started to undo his own pants as he sucked on Roxas' neck again. Roxas was starting to feel that familiar heat pooling in his stomach that told him his release was near, but it didn't come as Axel stopped his pumping and the assault on the blond's neck and started to take off his own pants. Roxas stopped breathing for a moment as he gazed down at Axel's erection.

"Roxas!" Axel said, trying to get the boy's attention. Roxas' head snapped up to look at Axel. He had a small amused smirk on his face, making Roxas blush a bright pink.

"Yeah?"

"I need lube." Axel looked expectantly at the blond. After all, sex was his idea wasn't it? Roxas blinked a couple times as his lust hazed mind tried to process what Axel had said.

"My pants." Roxas pointed to his jeans that were tossed away. Axel scurried over to the discarded clothing, rummaging through the pockets till he found a small bottle of lubricant. He crawled back over to the blond, settling himself between Roxas's legs. He popped open the bottle and started to spread it on his fingers but Roxas stopped him.

"I don't want it." Roxas said quietly, slightly shaking his head. He never liked it when Xigbar stretched him, it always felt really uncomfortable. After some time he'd just decided to take it without. Axel's brows pinched together in worry.

"You sure?" He asked. Roxas nodded and, though he was unsure, Axel went about spreading the lube on his erection. He positioned himself at the blond's entrance, holding Roxas by the hips.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, just... Do it quick okay?" Roxas said. He hated this part of sex, no matter what, it always hurt like hell. That was why he preferred to get it over with quickly rather than drag it out.

Axel nodded, then without another word he pushed into the tight, warm hole. Roxas sucked in a sharp breath as his face contorted in pain. It had been a few months since Roxas last had sex, so though the feeling of being stretched was familiar it would take a bit of getting used to again.

When Axel was all the way inside he stopped and looked worriedly at Roxas. His eyes were squeezed shut, his brows furrowed, his face was flushed as he bit his bottom lip and he was tightly gripping the carpet beneath him. After a moment Roxas's eyes opened to small slits.

"Keep going." He said breathily. Axel slowly pulled out of Roxas's tight hole, till just the tip was still in, then snapped his hips forward, continuing this slow pace till Roxas told him other wise.

"Faster." Axel nodded slightly as he picked up the pace, Roxas rocking his hips in time with Axel.

Not wanting to just lay there and do nothing the whole time, Roxas wrapped his arms around the red head's neck and pulled him down to start biting and sucking at his neck. When Axel suddenly hit his prostate Roxas bit harshly on his neck as a loud muffled moan escaped his throat.

"Th-there." He moaned into Axel's shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut at the sensation. Axel, not one to disappoint, did as he was told and slammed into that spot repeatedly as he wrapped his hand around Roxas's erection, pumping him in time with his thrusts. Roxas dug his nails into Axel's back, moaning with each hit to his prostate. Soon enough, the heat from before returned to his stomach as he neared his release. With just two more thrusts Roxas came, hot white ribbons of semen shooting from his shaft as he screamed so loud he was sure people in town had heard him. Roxas's body fell limp as he laid back on the rug, completely worn out and panting heavily as he came down from his high. Axel came soon after with a low grunt. He stayed towering over the blond as he calmed down, his arms shaking beneath him from his weight. He slowly pulled out of Roxas before he collapsed beside him, staring up at the ceiling.

"That was..." Roxas started, taking a slow, deep breath before continuing. "Amazing."

Axel chuckled and turned onto his side, pecking the blond on the cheek.

"You weren't so bad yourself." He said tiredly with a cheeky smile. Roxas chuckled and slapped Axel on the chest.

"You're a virgin aren't you? Or, you were. Why the hell was that so good?" Axel's brows furrowed slightly as he looked questioningly at Roxas.

"Who told you I was a virgin?" He asked. Roxas raised a brow.

"I just assumed. You haven't talked about any ex's."

"There's a reason for that." Roxas' brows furrowed and he sat up on his elbows to get a better look at the red head.

"Then who was your first?" Axel's eyes widened slightly and he took a deep breath.

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer Axel!" Roxas said irritably. He didn't like playing these games. "Just tell me."

"I can't." Axel persisted.

"Why not!"

"Because if I do you'll hate him!"

Roxas was just even more confused now. Why would he hate him? And who could matter so much to Axel that he would be so worried about Roxas hating them just because he was with them first. He couldn't really say that Axel didn't hate Xigbar, but he was sure that it was for a different reason than Roxas being with him first. Axel wasn't one for that kind of petty jealousy.

"Axel, why would I hate someone just because you were with them before me? The past is the past, and so long as it stays that way, I don't care who you were with." Roxas said. Axel looked over him for a moment, being sure Roxas was telling the truth, then he ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"It was Demyx." Roxas' brows furrowed more in confusion. Demyx? But didn't he love that kid from his childhood? Roxas was about to voice this question but was interrupted as Axel started to speak again.

"Before you ask, yes he is in love with that kid Zexion. This was before he realized that though. We dated for a couple months and broke up three days after we had sex. He told me that it didn't feel right after we'd had sex, apologized to me repeatedly then asked if we could still be friends. I'd laughed at him for that and told him that I had always felt like he wasn't really into the relationship. And that is why we're so close." Axel explained. Roxas nodded slightly in understanding then collapsed next to the red head again.

"You're not mad are you?" Axel asked after a moments silence. Roxas chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, like I said, I don't care so long as the past stays the past." Roxas said yawning. "I am fucking tired though."

Axel laughed and pulled the blond to his chest.

"Then go to sleep. I'm sure you need it anyways you freaking insomniac." Axel teased with a small smirk. Roxas smiled and snuggled into the red head's warm chest.

"Love you, Ax." Roxas muttered. Axel smiled, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Roxas' spiky golden locks.

"Love you too, Roxy."

* * *

><p><strong>Wow. That took forever! I apologize for the wait on this chapter guys! I do hope you enjoyed it. This was my first attempt at writing sex in about four years. I think I've improved a lot lol. And twists! Gotta love them twists lol. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. My ten year old sister freaked me the fuck out though at one point. Sitting there writing the sex scene and she decides to be a weirdo and peek around the screen at what I'm writing. I can only hope she didn't read any of it. Or see any words related to sex. Anyways, I love you all, thank you so much for your reviews and all your support! I'll see you all next chapter! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening!<strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**DatGuest**

**Aw, you are the sweetest thing, thank you so much love.**

**Haha that's awesome. I'll be 18 this September so that will be about five years running for me lol.**

* * *

><p>Axel was the first to wake up the next morning, the sun blinding him through a hole in the old raggid curtains. When he woke up he tried to get up so he could let Roxas sleep and probably get dressed, but the blonde was laying on his arm and was holding him tightly around the waist. He didn't mind so much really. He was just glad Roxas was finally getting some sleep. Even if that meant he had to be human pillow. In the time that he laid there, he looked over the blonde's body and all the bruises that littered his ivory skin. He couldn't help but smile at the fact that some of them came from the previous night. The difference between the marks were obvious though. Those that came from his father was a mix of purple and blue or sickly yellow green. The marks that Axel had left the night prior were like a brownish red. And they wouldn't hurt like the bruises his father left.<p>

He looked so frail. Like he'd break if you touched him. But Axel knew better than that. He may look fragile, but Roxas had to be one of the strongest people he knew. After all, he dealt with his father and Larxene on pretty much a daily basis and some how that kid managed to cope with it all. He was sure he'd seen his mother beaten at times too. He couldn't figure it out, how did he even live with that?

Axel sighed and ran a hand through Roxas's golden spikes. Roxas sighed and snuggled closer to the red head, mumbling in his sleep. Axel smiled, the boy was just too adorable.

There was another thing Axel couldn't understand. How could Xigbar ever have let Roxas slip through his grasp? Axel would be damned if he ever just let Roxas go. He'd do everything in his power to make sure that he didn't lose Roxas.

Though he supposed... Xigbar must really love Roxas. What was that saying again? If you love someone, set them free? It probably took a lot for him to do that. He remembered Roxas telling him once that Xigbar said he just wanted Roxas to be happy.

Okay, so Axel knew that Xigbar was a good guy, and maybe if he wasn't Roxas's ex they'd get along. And that just made things worse. Especially since he'd explained things to Roxas and was now basically back in his good books. He still ignored the older boy, but Axel had a feeling it was more for his sake than Roxas not wanting to talk to him. Which only made things worse. See, even though Roxas would think Axel stupid for thinking it, Xigbar was Roxas's ex, and they were together for two years. Roxas so far had only told Axel about two bad fights, one that had happened when Roxas first told Xigbar about his father's abuse and the one that ended it all. Otherwise, Roxas seemed to have had a really good relationship with the older boy. Roxas had told Axel about many of the good times, and sometimes Axel could swear he saw longing and regret in the boy's facial expressions. It killed Axel to see that on the blonde, but what really got to him was the chance that Roxas could leave him to go back to Xigbar. And Axel wouldn't lie, that scared him. He really did love Roxas, and he couldn't even begin to think of what he'd do without him.

Axel was suddenly broken from his thoughts when he heard a sharp gasp come from the blonde in his arms and he felt nails digging into the skin of his back. He looked down worriedly at Roxas. His eyes were squeezed shut as his nose scrunched and he was gritting his teeth.

"Roxas? What's the matter?" Axel asked worriedly as he released the blonde from his hold. Roxas raised his arm and looked down at a large bruise on his side.

"I'm okay." Roxas muttered, moving so he was now on his back, but still on Axel's arm and slung his own arm over his eyes.

"What happened?" He asked, still worried.

"Nothing, you were just squeezing my bruise." Roxas explained.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

"It's _fine, _Axel. I'm fine, don't worry about it." Roxas said, waving off the red head. He peeked out from under his arm to look at Axel.

"What were you all worked up about anyways?" Axel raised a brow at the blonde.

"What makes you think I was worked up about anything?" Axel asked. Roxas shrugged and shifted slightly on his side.

"I don't know, maybe how your stomach got all tense." He started, trailing his fingers across the red head's abs.

"Or how heavy your breathing became." His fingers danced up his chest and towards his throat. They stopped at his chin as he grabbed a hold of it and looked into his beautiful green eyes with his own deep cerulean.

"Or maybe it was that cute angry pout on your face." He said with a smirk. Axel blushed and scratched the back of his head, looking at the floor in embarrassment.

"You noticed all that huh?" He asked. Roxas smiled and pat his chest, letting his hand rest over his heart. He could feel it beat steadily in Axel's chest.

"I have a pretty good teacher." He said with a small smile. "So, what's eating you?"

Axel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't really want to tell Roxas everything he was thinking about. Or rather, how in depth he'd been thinking about Xigbar.

"Just... Thinking." He said, mentally slapping himself.

"No shit Sherlock. Care to tell me what about now?" Roxas said, his voice dripping with sarcasm but a playful smile on his face.

"... Xigbar." He said quietly, closely watching the blonde's expression. His brows furrowed in confusion for a moment then he raised one with an odd smile.

"Why are you thinking about Xigbar?" He sounded slightly amused as he spoke.

"I don't want to talk about it." Axel mumbled with a small pout. A mischievous grin worked it's way on to the blonde's face as he scooted closer to his red haired boyfriend.

"Is somebody jealous?"

"As if!" Axel said with a roll of the eyes. Roxas's eyes widened and the grin slipped off his face. Axel, quickly realizing what he'd said, clamped a hand over his mouth and his eyes widened.

"Well hello Xigbar." Roxas said with a cheeky grin. "When did you get in?"

"That never happen Roxas. Got it? Never. Happened." Axel said, pointing a finger at the blonde as if that would help to get the point across. Though Roxas didn't miss that small up turn to Axel's lips.

"Whatever you say... Xigbar."

Axel groaned and buried his face in his free arm. He honestly couldn't believe he'd actually said that. And while they were talking about the older boy. That just made it so much more worse. He heard Roxas chuckle then move closer to him, placing his hands on his chest. They were silent for a bit after that just laying there in their thoughts.

"Can I have my arm back? I think I've lost feeling in it." Axel said. Roxas blinked in surprise then quickly sat up off his arm. Axel felt the tingle of blood rushing back into his arm and made a face at the odd feeling.

"You okay?" Roxas asked, biting his lip in worry.

"I'm fine." Axel said, waving him off. Roxas sighed and rested his head on Axel's chest, one arm slung around Axel's waist and the other placed over his heart. His gaze was settled on the floor beneath the raggid old couch.

"You know, you never took off those wristbands last night." Axel said, looping a finger through the top of the wristband and pulling his wrist up. Roxas's head snapped up when he felt his wristband tighten at the bottom and his forearm lift off the red head.

"Oh... Yeah." Roxas said, taking his wrist back from the red head. "I don't take them off unless I'm showering."

"Why's that?" He asked, looking curiously at Roxas.

"They were a gift. I promised I'd always wear them." Roxas lied. He didn't want to lie to Axel. He wished he could tell him the truth, but he just couldn't. There was two reasons for this at the current moment. The first being that Axel had a lot on his plate at the moment and telling him right now would defeat the purpose of this weekend. After all, he was supposed to be cheering him up right now. The second reason was simple. Roxas was just a complete wuss. He supposed Seifer was right then. He was a chicken-wuss.

* * *

><p>Axel stood at the mirror in his bathroom, having just gotten home from Twilight Town. It was still Sunday and Reno wasn't home, probably out with Cloud or something, so him and Roxas were kind of safe for now. Roxas was sitting on Axel's bed, waiting for him to come back from the bathroom. At that moment, he was slightly afraid to take off his shirt and see the other marks the blonde had left behind, but finally, he slipped off his shirt, gasping at the marks on his hips.<p>

"Shit Roxas!" Axel exclaimed. Roxas appeared in the bath room moments later, looking curiously at the red head.

"What did I do?" He asked. Axel gestured to his body and after Roxas looked at his hips he began to laugh.

"That's nothing compared to what you did to me." Roxas said.

Axel scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. He knew how true that was. Roxas's neck was littered in marks and his chest was pretty close to rivaling that.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Roxas laughed and waved him off.

"Not like I haven't walked around with hickies before Ax." And with that Roxas headed back to Axel's room. Axel poked his head out of the door, watching him go. He may not have been as curvaceous as Axel, but that didn't mean he couldn't sway them like the red head could. And Axel sure as hell liked to watch.

* * *

><p>Xigbar was standing at Roxas's locker, arms crossed and staring out the large window as he waited for the little blonde to come by to drop off his bag. Classes weren't exactly out yet. He'd decided to start being a prick till the teacher kicked him out of the class room. He also ended up with a week of detention that he already knew he was going to skip out on. It's not like they could force him to go anyway. At his old school they'd had some of the teachers escort him to detention and he'd still manage to skip out. He'd do anything if it meant getting to hang out with his favorite little blonde.<p>

Speaking of his favorite blonde, he should be getting out of class soon. See, he'd left around the last five minutes of his class before lunch. He'd been wanting to see the boy, but there was barely enough time between classes for him to swing by and do so. Plus he appeared to be ignoring him as of late. Xigbar couldn't figure out for the life of him what he'd done, but as it continued he noticed that Axel was always with him and couldn't help but wonder if this had something to do with Axel. He was determined to talk to the boy though. Just because he couldn't date the blonde didn't mean they couldn't still be friends right?

Soon enough, the bell rang, and it didn't take Roxas very long to make his way to his locker. Xigbar saw him as he turned the corner, his (or Xigbar's) phone in hand as his thumbs flew across the small keyboard. Xigbar had no clue how the blonde did it some times, seeing as he'd only had a phone for about half a year before his mom had to cancel the plan due to lack of money. He used to use Xigbar's phone for private conversations with the older boy at times or just out of boredom and to call his mom, but other wise he had nothing.

Roxas finally looked up from the phone when he got to his locker and was surprised to find the older boy there. It's not like he was waiting for someone to just be standing around waiting for him by his locker. His eye brows quickly furrowed though.

"What are you doing here?" Roxas asked.

"What, I can't come visit my phone?" Xigbar said with a playful grin. Roxas didn't seem to catch that he was just joking though and looked away guiltily.

"Woah, don't go emo on me here kiddo, I was just kidding." Xigbar said, looking slightly worried. Roxas stood there for a moment then sighed, moving to open his locker.

"I'm sorry, I'm just really tired." Roxas said quietly.

"Yeah, I noticed you got some pretty bad bags under your eyes there. What's going on, you feeling alright?" Xigbar asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his shoulder against the locker next to Roxas's.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Roxas said quickly. He slammed his locker shut and started down the hall way to the cafeteria. Or outside. You never really could tell with Roxas. If he was in one of his moods, which Xigbar knew all too well about, then he'd head outside and avoid pretty much everyone. Then again, there was always the chance of him being upset and still going to the cafeteria, just refusing to eat anything. Roxas had very odd habits, but Xigbar found himself loving the boy no matter what.

"But I do worry about it. I worry about you all the time kiddo. Now, you know you can talk to me. What's up?" Xigbar said, slinging an arm around the boy's shoulders only to have it removed immediately.

"You're not gonna leave me alone till I tell you are you?" Roxas asked with a dejected sigh.

"As if! Roxas, I don't want to upset you. I just want to make sure your okay. I've told you before, all I care about is your happiness. Now, you're obviously not getting any help with this problem, seeing as I think Axel there would've helped you. Come on, it's me or him." The moment that last bit left his mouth, Xigbar wanted to smash his head into the lockers. Had he seriously just told Roxas to choose between him, his ex boyfriend, and Axel, his current boyfriend? There was no fucking way the blonde was going to tell him now!

Roxas sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"A friend of Axel and I died. I've been coping pretty well, the only problem is that ever since I haven't been able to sleep." Holy shit, did Roxas just choose him?

"And Axel doesn't know?" Xigbar asked.

"He knows somewhat. I told him," Oh fucking hell. So he hadn't choose Xigbar over Axel... Though, he had chosen to tell him. Surely that had to be a good sign right? " But he hasn't mentioned it since I told him. So I don't know if he's forgotten or if he thinks it's stopped. I'll probably find out in a week or two."

Xigbar's eye widened at this information. Axel wasn't checking up on him?

"When did you tell him?" Xigbar asked, looking curiously at the blonde. Roxas thought it over for a moment, looking at the ceiling.

"Saturday I believe."

It was silent after that, the two walking in a comfortably side by side as they got lost in their thoughts. It was Wednesday now, so understandably, Xigbar couldn't figure out why Axel wasn't checking up on the blonde to make sure he'd been sleeping. What did the boy even do all night long when he was up?

"Are you going to follow me outside too or are you going to lunch?" Roxas asked, breaking the silence. Xigbar blinked in confusion for a moment as he realized they were at the exit of the school.

Hm, outside with Roxas or lunch with a bunch of people he didn't give two flying fucks about? The answer seemed pretty obvious.

"I guess I'll be a loyal stalker." He said jokingly. Roxas smiled then the two exited the school.

"So, if you told Axie what's been going on, how come he hasn't done anything about it?" Xigbar asked. Roxas shrugged.

"He offered to let me sleep over his house, cause he knows what my dad is like, but I told him no. The only reason I'm still living there is for my mom, and you know that. Other wise I would've taken you up on your offer two years ago." Roxas explained. Okay, so that made far more sense to Xigbar.

"Plus you you have really bad withdrawals. Does Axel know about your addictions yet?" Roxas was silent and turned his face away from the older male. Xigbar's expression dropped. He'd at least been hoping that Axel would take care of the blonde and make sure he didn't cut or pop pain meds.

"Oh kiddo-"

"It's fine Xigbar. It's not like I'm doing it every day. Hell, I spent the weekend with Axel and-"

"Yeah, I can see that." Xigbar interrupted, poking one of the many hickies on the blonde's neck. Roxas sighed, but continued as if Xigbar hadn't interrupted him.

"And I haven't done anything." Xigbar was silent for a moment, then finally asked;

"You did it when you got home didn't you?"

"Don't go there Xigbar. My dad wasn't exactly happy when I got home. After all, I didn't ask him to go out did I?" Roxas huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, shooting a glare at a random tree.

"He couldn't have been very happy about the state of your neck either." Xigbar mumbled. "Fucking homophobic asshole."

Roxas chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm surprised he even recognized them as hickies. He's so oblivious, I wonder if he even realizes we broke up. He never did like you too much."

"That's because I punched him in the nose. Which, I regret by the way." Xigbar said, though he grinned at the memory. This made Roxas laugh.

"No you don't! You just regret that I got beaten for it." Roxas said, uncrossing his arms and stuffing his hands in his pockets. Xigbar chuckled.

"Okay, you got me there. But you can't tell me it didn't make you happy to see that asshole get what was coming to him." Roxas smiled and ran a hand through his hair.

"I wouldn't even try."

The two fell silent after that, walking around till they found a fairly shaded place near the high school entrance. Roxas wasn't exactly sure why he was allowing Xigbar to hang out with him. After all, if he really wanted the older boy gone Xigbar would go to make him happy. Or he could've just gone to the cafeteria where Axel was and he would leave him alone then. But he didn't. Maybe he just missed hanging out with the older boy. He didn't have feelings for him anymore, but he still liked him as a friend. Besides, Xigbar knew him better than any of his other friends. Even Axel didn't know him as well as Xigbar.

He wondered how Axel would react if he knew he was with Xigbar right now. Axel didn't really seem to like the older boy, but Roxas wondered if it had to do with jealousy or because Xigbar had once hurt Roxas.

"Can I see them?" Xigbar asked, breaking Roxas out of his thoughts. He was fingering one of the blonde's wristbands and looking at them with furrowed brows. Roxas's stomach churned at the thought of removing his wristbands, but this was Xigbar. It wasn't like he hadn't seen them before. So he took off both his wristbands, revealing his many scars, now white with age, and some cuts that were only a couple days old. He held his wrists up to the older boy for him to get a good look. Xigbar didn't look at all surprised. Didn't even seem affected by it. Roxas only knew he was paying attention because he grabbed his left wrist, the one with the most scars, and ran his fingers over the scarring.

"Hideous right?" Roxas muttered, staring at his wrists with half lidded eyes. Xigbar chuckled and shook his head.

"You said that the first time you showed them to me. And my answer still hasn't changed tiger." Xigbar said, snatching the wristbands from Roxas and placing them back on the blonde, being sure to place them on the wrong wrists. Roxas didn't notice this though.

* * *

><p>Axel sat in the cafeteria, Demyx opposite him at the table and Reno sitting a chair away from Axel, playing on his phone. Reno had barely touched his food, Axel had noticed that he hadn't been eating too well as of late. Demyx on the other hand had already finished his food and was just talking to Axel about some song he'd written over the weekend. He didn't really know where Roxas was, but over the past couple months he'd found that every now and again Roxas would skip lunch and just go sit outside by himself. So he wasn't worried too much. All he really worried about was what was wrong, but if he really wanted to talk he'd come to Axel. The red head knew that much about his little blonde.<p>

Axel wasn't really paying much mind to anything around him until he saw Demyx looking curiously between him and Reno and then it registered that someone had taken up the seat between him and his brother. He looked over curiously to the intruder to find the same blonde that had helped him find Xigbar and Reno.

"'Ello boys." He said with a smirk. Axel and Demyx looked at each other oddly then back at the blonde.

"Uh... Hi?" Axel said, a tad uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I normally wouldn't just sit down with people I barely knew, but no one else in here really strikes my interest. I recognized you as the lad that was looking for him and the other boy in the high school classes though, and realized, we haven't officially met. Name's Luxord mate." He explained, holding out his hand by the end for Axel to shake.

"I'm Axel..." He said, shaking the offered hand. "And that's Demyx. I guess you already know Reno."

"Actually, I don't. Nice to meet you too." He then shook Reno's hand then Demyx's.

Okay, what was up with this guy? He didn't know Axel's brother, but for some reason he was able to tell Axel where his brother's class was and what seat he sat in.

"I'm actually a freshmen, and I just moved here over the summer from Neverland, so I don't really know too many people personally. Though I have enjoyed figuring out who everyone is from afar and watching all the little cliques. Some of the people here act so funny. Not in a bad way I mean, just differently from what I'm used to." Oh that explained a lot.

"Well, you're welcome to hang out with us anytime you like! I always enjoy getting to know new people." Demyx said happily. Luxord smiled.

"Thank you luv, that's very kind of you. So, I am quite interested in you Axel, seeing as you've ventured my way a couple times. Would I be prying too much if I were to ask why you were looking for Reno and Xigbar?" Luxord said, causing Demyx to raise a questioning brow to the red head.

"You went to see Xigbar?" Demyx asked. He really should have told Demyx about that.

"I just went to ask him something about Roxas." Axel said, scratching the back of his neck. He then turned back to Luxord to answer the rest of his question. "And Reno's my brother, so I guess that's kind of self explanatory."

Luxord nodded in understanding. Then he suddenly clapped his hands together as a mischievous grin worked it's way onto his face.

"So, anyone here gamble?"

* * *

><p>About ten minutes before the end of lunch, Roxas had walked into the cafeteria, walking over to the table Axel and Demyx were still seated at with a blonde boy he'd never seen before. They had already finished their lunch, but were still sitting there chatting away.<p>

"Son of a bitch!" Axel yelled, dropping his head on the table as several others looked at him curiously. Roxas's brows furrowed and he made it to the table in just enough time to see the blonde gathering money off the table.

"Thank you for you're money luv. Let's do this again sometime." The man said with a wink as he stood from the table.

"What's going on?" Roxas asked curiously, a slightly amused smile playing on his lips. Axel looked up at the sound of Roxas's voice and smiled.

"Hey Roxy. You been outside again?" Axel said. Roxas nodded.

"Yeah. Wasn't really in the mood for lunch. So what were you doing?" Roxas said with a shrug.

"Just... Gambling." Axel muttered.

"Ah, you must be the infamous Roxas. Axel's told me a bit about you. I'm Luxord. It's nice to finally meet you." Luxord spoke as he stepped around the table then held out a hand to Roxas. Roxas slowly took the offered hand.

"Um you too." Roxas said, a bit awkwardly.

"Well, I should be on my way. Do come find me if you want to know of any more bets boys. Many more people participate than you realize." Luxord said with a wink. Then with that, he stalked out of the cafeteria. Roxas watched him leave then turned back to Axel and Demyx with a curious look.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

"Just a new kid in high school. Helped me find my brother's class room and came over to get to know us a bit." Axel explained. He stared at Roxas for a moment, brows furrowed and eyes squinted slightly as if to get a closer look with out getting close to him. Roxas wondered for a moment if he'd forgotten to put his wristbands back on for a moment, but he clearly remembered Xigbar putting them back on him.

"Why did you switch your wristbands?" Axel finally asked, breaking the short silence. Roxas's eyes widened slightly and he raised his wrists to look at them. Fucking Xigbar.

Demyx looked over curiously to Roxas's wrists then looked at Axel in confusion.

"How the hell did you notice that?" He asked. Axel raised a brow then shrugged.

"I don't know. I just know Roxas well enough I guess. He always has the checkered on his left and the black on his right." Axel paused and looked to Roxas. "So why the switch?"

Roxas was at a loss for words. It's not like he could tell Axel he'd spent all of lunch with Xigbar. Axel would be so pissed.

"I took them off to wash my hands a little while ago. I-I guess I just wasn't paying attention." Roxas explained. For a minute, Roxas didn't think Axel would buy it. But Axel then nodded in understanding and stood from the table just as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch.

"Well, we better get to class." Axel said, wrapping an arm around Roxas's waist. The boy's then hurried out of the cafeteria and off to their next classes. Roxas was still slightly unsure Axel had believed him, but if he didn't, he didn't say anything about it or remotely bring it up through the rest of the day.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay Luxord appearance! He totally needed some love. Just like Xigbar. See that big ass part with Xigbar there?! That's my favorite part. Cause even though I'm an AkuRoku fangirl at heart, I still love my XigRoku. I mean, come on! How can you not think they're kind of good together? And I just love Xigbar's nicknames for Roxas. Tiger? How much better can that get XD Also, Luxord needed to make his introduction. Because I love Lux and his british accent and he's just so cool. You may ask, why does Luxord sound so creepy? I don't know, that's just the way I imagine him. Knowing everyone and everything going on in the school. He couldn't make his bets other wise ;)<strong>

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I will hopefully get the next chapter out soon. I'm gonna have a bit more time on my hands pretty quick here too. I graduate this week, so yay! More free time! Love you all very much and I'll see you next time! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening!**


	19. Chapter 19

**DatGuest**

**Lmao oh my god! I literally snorted when I read that! That was too much!**

**Right?! Luxord's awesome! Certain accents just make people so much more attractive. British is definitely at the top of the list.**

**Haha yeah, I could. Here in America you can't but alcohol till you're 21. I can buy cigarettes though lol.**

**lol I always do don't I? Lots of love dear :)**

* * *

><p>Roxas laid in his bed, staring at the blue numbers on the clock. It was 2:53 in the morning. He was dead tired, but he couldn't get to sleep. It had been about a week since the lunch time he'd spent with Xigbar and the more he thought about his sleep problem the more he wanted to do something about it. Especially since the only good nights sleep he'd had since Christmas Eve was the weekend he'd spent with Axel. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to admit Xigbar was right, but he knew this couldn't continue. So what the hell was he supposed to do?<p>

He picked up Xigbar's phone from beside his pillow and started to scroll through his contacts. Most of the names in his phone were nicknames, but when Axel had found out Roxas had a phone he snatched it from the blonde to change his name. So, even though Roxas objected to it, Axel's name was Hot Pants. And Axel forced Roxas to promise to not change it. When he finally made it to Axel's name he stopped and stared at it, biting his lip as he contemplated calling the red head. He really didn't want to wake him up, especially since it was a school night, but he couldn't stand this any more. So finally, after taking a deep breath, Roxas hit the call button and pressed the phone to his ear. It rang about four times before Axel finally answered, voice quiet and laced with sleep.

"Hello?" He said, sounding kind of confused.

"Hey Axel." Roxas said quietly. If the red head hadn't been confused before, he definitely was now.

"Roxas? It's like three in the morning, what's the matter?"

"I can't sleep." He could hear the sound of Axel shifting in his bed before he spoke again. He could just imagine him running a hand across his face in an attempt to wake up.

"Okay, do you want me to come over?" Axel asked. Roxas shook his head, forgetting for a moment that Axel couldn't see him.

"No, I guess I was kind of just hoping to talk for a bit and see if I'd be able to fall asleep." Roxas said, running a hand through his hair. Axel was silent for a minute as Roxas heard more shifting.

"Okay, just let me- woah!" Axel was cut off and he heard a loud thump then a quieter voice.

"Shit Ax. What the fuck are you doing?" Was that Reno? What was he doing in Axel's room?

"I'm trying to get to the bathroom." Axel hissed. It was silent for a moment, and Roxas wondered for a second if Axel had accidentally hung up on him, but then he heard Reno talking again.

"Just watch where you're going okay?" He said, sounding a bit more awake now.

"I can't fucking see in the dark." Axel said. He couldn't hear what Reno said in reply as Axel was moving farther away.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Axel asked after closing his bedroom door.

"I don't know. What's your brother doing in your room?" Roxas said, looking at his clock again. 3:06.

"He's not in my room." Axel said, stopping to yawn. "He's in his room."

Wait, what?

"Wait, so you were sleeping in Reno's room? Why?"

"You know how you haven't been able to sleep since Zack's death?" Axel asked. Roxas made a small noise of confirmation. "Well, it's kind of the same thing. I mean, I can get to sleep if I'm alone, but I have nightmares if I do. The same thing happened when my dad died, but it was worse then." Axel explained.

"What do you mean? Like how much worse?" Roxas asked, turning on his back so he was looking at his ceiling instead of the clock.

"Like I'd scream and someone would have to come and wake me up. After about two nights of it Reno made me sleep in his room. I say made me because I was stubborn and determined to beat it on my own. But uh..." Axel paused, sounding nervous. Roxas could imagine the light blush on the red heads face as he scratched the back of his head.

"But what?" Roxas asked after waiting a couple minutes on Axel.

"Well, they were still even worse. I ended up having to share Reno's bed with him." Roxas nodded slightly in understanding.

"So what were the dreams about?" Roxas asked. Axel was silent for a moment, and once again, Roxas found himself wondering again if Axel had hung up on him. Xigbar's phone told him he had not.

"My friends and family dying." He said quietly. Roxas was at a loss for words. It wasn't necessarily that the information surprised him, in fact, it was quite the opposite. It made sense that after his fathers death Axel would have nightmares about others dying. No, it was a much simpler reason than surprise. He simply just didn't know how to respond to that type of thing without sounding like an idiot. So Roxas simply stayed silent, trying to think of what to say until Axel spoke up again.

"Hey Roxy, could you do me a favor?" Axel asked, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Sure, what do you need?" Roxas said with a brow raised in curiosity.

"I need you to open your window." Axel said. Roxas's brows furrowed in confusion. Why did Axel need him to... Wait, he didn't!

Roxas shot up in his bed, flinging back the curtain to look outside. Sure enough, on the tree by his window sat Axel, patiently waiting for Roxas to open the window and allow him in.

"Axel, what the hell are you doing here?" Roxas asked, looking out the window in bewilderment.

"Roxy, we can discuss this once I'm in the house. Now will you please open the window?" Axel said, looking pleadingly at the blonde. Roxas stared at him for a moment then huffed and started unlocking the window. He pushed it open with ease then moved aside to allow Axel to get in. Once in, Axel shut the window, locking it back up, and turned to Roxas with a smile.

"Hey baby." He said, giving him a kiss on the top of the head.

"Axel, why are you here? I told you not to come over." Roxas said, pouting slightly at being ignored.

"Because Roxy, you needed me. I know you _said_ you didn't want me to come over, but you were thinking about my well being not yours. But I'm not concerned about myself, I'm concerned about you. And besides, I already had an argument with Reno about it, so I'm staying." Oh, so that's why it had gone silent. Now that Roxas had thought about it, he felt like an idiot for not figuring it out before now. Roxas sighed.

"Fine, you can stay." He said in defeat. Axel chuckled.

"Gee Roxas, you sound so thrilled!" Axel said sarcastically. "Come on, you told me your dad doesn't check on you before he leaves for work, you need sleep and you refuse to sleep over my house. Let me do this for you. It's not like your the only one with sleep issues anyways."

"I know, I just... Don't want to bother you." Roxas said, looking at his blanket as he twisted the sheets in his hands. Axel grabbed Roxas's face in his hands and forced him to look up at him.

"Roxas, we've talked about this before. You could never bother me." Roxas sighed once more, but nodded. Axel smiled and moved next to the blonde in the small bed, laying himself and Roxas down. Axel kissed him atop the head once more after Roxas made himself comfortable on the red head, his ear just over Axel's heart so he could hear the steady beats. He inhaled Axel's scent as he laid there, he always loved the way he smelt. It was like smoke mixed with cinnamon plus a bit that was just Axel's natural smell. His body was starting to relax as he inhaled the scent and slowly he felt his brain get hazy with sleep. He didn't realize how utterly tired he was. He didn't fall asleep just yet though as he started to feel Axel gently stroke his hair, humming a soft tune.

"Are you going to sing me to sleep?" Roxas asked sleepily with a quiet chuckle. Now that he thought about it, he'd never heard the red head sing. Demyx, sure, the kid was like a walking jukebox. But Axel, never. In the couple months he'd known Axel he'd never heard him sing, and it was kind of surprising. It's not like Axel never listened to music, but when he did all he did was tap his fingers to the beat.

"Maybe. Do you want me to?" He asked with a smile.

"I don't care." Roxas mumbled. Axel chuckled then continued to hum for a moment longer. Then suddenly, quietly the red head began to sing.

"_It's you and me. The stars and moon will keep us company. They'll watch over us as we fall asleep. And I will hold you close._" Axel sang. Roxas's eyes widened slightly. Though his voice was quiet, so as to not wake Roxas's parents, it was strong, smooth like silk, but not differing much from how he sounds when he speaks. It wasn't the best singing he'd ever heard, but it was Axel, and it was perfect. He would gladly listen to it for the rest of his life.

"_'Cause in my arms you know you will be safe. And I won't let you go._" Roxas let his eyes slide closed as he listened to the sound of Axel singing mingle with the sound of his steady heartbeat.

"_So baby let my heart-beat -be the rhythm that puts you -to -sleep, my smile will be the first -thing you see when you wake up... When you wake up..._"

That was the last thing Roxas heard before he slipped into a peaceful sleep, having no dreams. It was a comfortable darkness though, inviting him in and resting his tired body.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Roxas was not woken by his alarm or his mother, but the warm red head beside him.<p>

"It's time to get up babe." Axel said softly, smiling down at the tired blonde.

"What time is it?" Roxas inquired, looking sleepily at Axel.

"Seven thirty."

"I don't wanna." Roxas mumbled as he nuzzled his face back into Axel's chest. Axel chuckled and rubbed Roxas's shoulder.

"I know you don't. But we're going to miss school if you don't get up." Axel said.

"Fuck school." Roxas said, tightening his grip on Axel. Axel sighed And ran a hand through his hair. Stubborn blonde...

"I don't think your mom's going to like that answer." Axel said. Roxas whinnied and pulled away from Axel with a full blown pout.

"Well, good morning sunshine." Axel grinned cheekily at the blonde. Roxas had no clue how some one could be so cheerful first thing the morning. He guessed, that was probably why he hated being around Sora in the morning. Seriously, did anything get that kid down?

"Fuck off." He muttered as he rolled over in his bed to get up. Axel chuckled and ruffled the blonde's hair.

"Love you too, Roxy. Now hurry up, Reno's coming to pick us up."

After that, the routine continued. Every night Axel would walk to Roxas's house, most of the time against his wishes, and he would spend the night so Roxas could sleep. Axel had ended up having a nightmare one of the nights. Roxas had woken him up from it and told him he was crying in his sleep. He barely remembered it though. All he could recall was that it was about Reno dying and it some how included fire. Of course Axel would dream of fire though, he was fully aware of his pyromania and was actually very proud of it. Because of this nightmare though, Roxas had assumed it was because he hadn't been around his older brother and insisted on him sleeping at home for a couple nights. Axel, however, wouldn't agree unless Roxas came with him. It wasn't till about a month later that Roxas decided he wanted to try going to sleep with out the red head. He had to promise Axel that night that he would call if he couldn't get to sleep. Luckily though, he managed to get to sleep on his own and didn't have to disturb the red head.

Over that time, Roxas had hung out with Xigbar a couple more times during lunch. He liked to think they were slightly forced, but in all honesty, he was happy to spend time with Xigbar again. It wasn't exactly like old times, but Roxas was glad for that. He knew he wouldn't fall for Xigbar again, but that didn't change his feelings for Roxas at all. And if things weren't the same, then Roxas wouldn't have to worry about Xigbar's feelings for him. He was really just glad to finally have someone to talk to, who knew absolutely everything there was to know about Roxas.

Nothing had changed with his father and Larxene of course. Larxene was still a bitch to him as much as she possibly could be and his father still beat him every day for no apparent reason.

Now Roxas's birthday was nearing, February 27. Axel said he was going to do something special for him, and his mom of course wanted to celebrate. But life wasn't really fair to Roxas now was it? It had been just three days before his birthday, he'd had an especially shit day, Larxene being a bitch all day, Roxas was her chosen victim for the day, and Xigbar trying to bug him while he was spending time with Axel in one of the rare times he chose to go to the cafeteria and _not _eat. When he'd gotten home, he was in a really bad mood, and not really wanting to listen to his father bitch. But his father bitching about him and hitting him wasn't really the snapping point for Roxas. No, it was something completely different. The man just _had _to take it there didn't he?

* * *

><p>Roxas was sitting in the kitchen, talking to his mother about his terrible day while she cooked dinner. He'd already received his beating of the day from that asshole, so as long as he stayed out of the mans way, he figured he couldn't get into much more trouble. But then the man called him into the living room. When Roxas had heard his name he looked at his mother in confusion, as if silently asking her what he had done now, but his mother had just looked back at him with wide, worried eyes. Taking a deep breath, Roxas had gotten out of his seat and gone to see what the man wanted. He was sitting his lazy ass on the couch, beer in hand as he watched the TV with glazed over eyes. Those eyes snapped up to look at him when he entered, narrowing and causing Roxas's heart to race wildly in his chest. He drank the last of his beer, then threw the bottle at Roxas. It just missed him, thankfully, as it flew past his head and hit the wall. The man then stood, coming just a foot away from Roxas as he towered over him. Roxas steeled himself, trying to seem as though he wasn't afraid of the older male while taking deep breaths to try and calm his heart.<p>

"That... Axis boy is still your friend right?" Roxas wanted to correct him on Axel's name, but he knew that would just get him into more trouble so he slowly nodded one more.

"I don't want you hanging out with him anymore. I don't like him."

Wait, what?

For what reason could he possibly not like Axel? Axel had never once done anything that could possibly upset the man. He was always on his best behavior around Roxas's father, even going so far as to call him sir, and, even though Axel hated doing it, he acted as though he respected the man.

"Excuse me?"

After that, his father had started to list off to Roxas all his bullshit reasons as to why he didn't like Axel and why Roxas shouldn't hang out with him. As the man continued on, Roxas found himself becoming angrier with the man. What right did he have to even say such things? Axel was a far better person than his father, and even went so far as to acting nice toward the man for Roxas's sake. With that said though, Roxas couldn't even begin to understand where all this rage was suddenly coming from. He was normally able to handle his father, he'd been doing it for years and he'd never had too much of a problem. He'd learned how to deal with all of his shit excuses and beatings, he protected his mother when the man would target her, even though she told him not to. The man had even talked shit about Xigbar before, and he'd been able to just brush it off, knowing the man was wrong and just being a complete asshole. But this was different. This was an anger he'd never felt before, and he couldn't help but wonder what could possibly be different this time around? Why was he so incapable of dealing with the man's words today? He couldn't take it anymore though. The anger was building up with every syllable the man uttered about the red head. He could take it when it was him, he could deal with it when the man called him a failure and a "no good fag" and all his beatings. But this he couldn't deal with. He couldn't take the man spewing such awful lies about Axel and his eyes lit with rage as he finally snapped.

"Shut the fuck UP!" He screamed, tackling the man to the floor as he started to repeatedly punch him in the face.

His mother came running into the room from the kitchen when she heard Roxas scream, startled by the outburst and worried as to what her husband might do. Roxas, however, was momentarily snapped out of his rage at the sound of his mother's high pitched scream. She couldn't believe her son was actually attacking the man.

His father took that moment of opportunity to punch Roxas in the face then shove the blonde off of him so he could scramble to his feet. He stomped on Roxas's wrist and Roxas screamed in agony at the pain. He was sure that was now broken. His father then started to kick him in the stomach, causing Roxas to start hacking up blood in a coughing fit. His ears were starting to ring, and in the background he could hear his mother's muffled screaming for the man to stop. Roxas wasn't quite sure what happened after that as the man kicked him in the head and everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>I am so sorry! Please don't hate me! I promise, something good is to come of this! But there will be a lot of sadness in the next chapter, so please don't hate me! I love you all so much, have virtual cookies! *gives everyone a cookie*<strong>

**Right o, so the start of this was just filler, and telling you that Roxas did INDEED seek Axel's help with his insomnia. The rest, as you can tell, is actually story line! But, anyways. You are all so fantastic for sticking with me for so long on this, I love you all so much, and all your love and support means so much to me! We've got a few more chapters before we reach the end of this fic, and to be honest, it's kind of making me sad. But I do hope you will all continue to stick around for new stories. If any of you are at all interested, *shameless self publishing* I have started another AkuRoku, per the request of my friend Yukisaintclare. It's Alice in Wonderland based. Doesn't follow the story too much as I like to make things my own rather than copy others, but I think it's pretty safe to say that it's a good story so far. Give it a look see if your interested, and as always, much love to you all! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening! See ya later ;)**


	20. Chapter 20

**DatGuest**

**Lol that's awesome! It's the same for me lol, it will be the death of me I swear XD**

**Well, he's gonna look like and feel like hell for a while, but he will get better! Promise!**

**Lol! Oh my God! I would die of embarrassment! I feel for you man, I totally feel for you. That kind of just made me think of how I recently told my mom I'm pansexual. With how my family is, they won't care, but the joking and such lasted for about twenty minutes. It's not really a mean kind of teasing (to an outsider it might seem that way, but it's really not) it's just basically how we are with each other. They keep saying panda sexual though, because I love pandas.**

**Thank you so much Hun, it means a lot. You totally do! It would be so much easier to talk to you that way!**

* * *

><p><em>He could hear a voice barking out orders and he slowly opened his eyes. He had to squint to see as bright lights consumed his vision. He could make out three figures in blue running down the hall way with the bed he laid in.<em>

The first thing Roxas noticed upon awakening, was that it was way too bright. The kind of bright where he had to squint his eyes to allow them to adjust, but even after adjusting it still seemed to bright. This only assisted to worsening his, already massive, head ache. He quickly recognized the sickening lighting as fluorescents though, and as memories of what happened before he blacked out he knew exactly where he was. As he was finally able to open his eyes enough to look around and found that he was indeed correct.

He was laying in a hospital bed with stark white sheets pulled up to his chest and an IV stuck into the top of his hand. There was a sink to the left of him with his heart monitor and IV drip placed directly in front of it. The only noises in the room were the sounds of the TV, quietly playing some stupid show about ghosts. To his right was a large counter stretching across the length of the room. The flat wooden surface held two large gift baskets and several vases with an assortment of flowers. There was a small pile of unopened cards to the side. There were also two chairs sitting in front of the counter, one of them was empty but a jacket hung over the arm rest, and in the chair beside his bed was Axel. He was slouched in the chair, head resting on his hand as he slept. He looked like hell though. His skin was pale, almost as pale as Roxas's, and he had dark circles under his eyes, appearing darker in contrast to his skin. His hair was limper and messier than usual, and it appeared as though it hadn't been washed for a couple days.

How long had he been unconscious?

With a sigh, Roxas tried to sit himself up, but he immediately fell back at the sharp pain shooting through his torso with a small gasp and loud grunt of pain. Axel woke up at the noise and found Roxas gripping his stomach with his uninjured arm. His face was contorted in pain and Axel quickly shot out of his chair.

"Shit!" Roxas gasped out, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Fuck, are you okay babe?" Axel asked worriedly. Roxas slowly nodded, but Axel knew he was just trying to keep him from worrying. Axel quickly reached across the bed and snatched up a small circular remote with only one button on the very top. He pushed the button, and soon Roxas was relieved of the extreme pain.

"Thanks." Roxas breathed.

"You scared the shit out of me." Axel said as he collapsed back in the chair.

"I'm sorry." Roxas said. Axel shook his head.

"Don't be. Look, I told the nurse I'd tell her when you woke up and I told your mom and Reno that I'd call them. You'll be alright while I'm gone right?" Axel said, slowly getting out of the chair.

"Yeah, just... Turn off the fucking light okay?" Roxas tossed his arm over his eyes. Axel chuckled and nodded slightly.

"Okay Roxy. Love you."

"Love you too." Roxas mumbled. He could hear the red head click off the light, then he heard the door open then slowly close. He only had a moment to himself before the nurse came into the room.

"Roxas, it's good to see your finally awake." She said happily. Roxas slowly moved his arm to his stomach to look at the woman. She wore dark blue scrubs and had short black hair with dark brown eyes.

"My name is Yuffie Kisagari, and I'll be your nurse. Now, your mother tells us you fell down the stairs at your house and-"

"Wait a minute, what?" Roxas said, interrupting the girl. He most certainly did _not_ fall down the stairs! How could his mother tell such a lie? That bastard had put him in the hospital, that was too fucking far! How could she still sit there and lie, act as if they were a happy little family with no problems?

"You fell down the stairs in your home. Hit your head pretty hard too. You've been in and out of consciousness for a day and a half." Yuffie explained as she looked over the file in her hands.

"I most certainly did _not_ fall down the stairs." Roxas said firmly, glaring slightly at the girl. Her eyes widened slightly at his tone of voice and she tilted her head slightly as she looked curiously at Roxas.

"Your mother and father swear that's what happened." She said confusedly.

His father?

"My father is a twisted fucking drunk who beats me on a daily basis and is the reason I'm in this fucking bed!" Roxas growled, clentching his hands into tight fists so that his knuckles turned white. His right wrist hurt like fuck as he did this, but he was so angry right now that he could care less.

"Sir, please calm down. Now several people of the staff have met with your father, including me. He seemed perfectly fine, he hadn't even smelt like alcohol. You might just be imagining this, as I said, you hit your head pretty hard and in these cases the mind will tend to play some tricks on you."

"But that's not-!" Roxas started but was interrupted by the nurse.

"Sir, I'm going to just leave you alone till you calm down. If you need anything just call." And with that said, the nurse exited the room, leaving Roxas wide eyed and paling to the point that he looked like a ghost.

He couldn't believe this. His father had beaten the shit out of him, put him in the hospital. This was the chance he had to get that fucking man sent to jail for all the torment he'd put Roxas through for fifteen fucking years. Why the fuck would his mother lie? What the fuck was going through her mind that made her think it would be a good idea.

It barely registered in his mind when Axel re entered the room, but he froze by the wall that blocked his view of the door.

"Roxas, what's the matter? Why are you crying?" He asked, rushing over to the blonde.

Was he crying? He hadn't even noticed.

"She lied." He said quietly. Axel's brows furrowed and he looked confusedly at the blonde.

"What?"

"She lied... My mom lied." Roxas choked out before he completely broke down into tears. Axel was quick to try and console him, hugging him the best he could without hurting Roxas and kissing his head as he whispered words of comfort. Roxas tried to talk through the sobs, but it just came out a jumbled mess and confused Axel even more. He gave up when Axel hushed him. It felt like they'd been sitting there for hours before Roxas finally calmed down enough to form coherent words.

"Roxy, what's the matter?" Axel asked again.

"My mom lied. She..." Roxas paused for a moment to take a deep breath. "She told them I fell down the stairs."

Axel's brows furrowed. He didn't fall down the stairs...? He had a hunch he knew what happened, but he knew he should ask before he did anything.

"What happened then?" Axel asked. Roxas didn't answer though. Just sat there, breathing heavily as tears continued to streak down his face.

"Roxas, you have to tell me what happened or I can't help you." Axel said sternly. Roxas nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

"M-my dad. He was... He was talking about you. I-I lost it. I punched him in the face a couple times, but my mom... She came in and screamed. I let my guard down. And then he... He did this." Roxas said, gesturing to his body. Axel's eyes widened as he listened to the blonde and his eyes slowly darkened with rage. He knew something was up. He fucking _knew_ something wasn't right. But he had no proof at the time. He wasn't going to let the man get away with this though. This was too fucking far and he'd had enough. He wasn't going to let this potentially happen again.

"I'll be right back." Axel growled, releasing the blonde and heading for the door.

"They won't listen to you! I already tried, she said I was just imagining things." Roxas said. Axel stopped and turned back to the blonde with an odd smile. It unnerved the blonde, it was a smile he'd never seen on the red head.

"I think they'll believe me. You have two other people that are capable of swearing by it since your mother's not willing." And with that, Axel left the room, leaving Roxas by himself. Who was he...? Roxas's eyes widened in realization.

* * *

><p>When Axel exited the room he found Xigbar leaning against the wall across the way. His eyes were closed and his hands were shoved in the pockets of his baggy jeans. His eyes slowly opened when he heard the door click shut.<p>

"Well? Can I see him yet?" Xigbar asked. Axel slowly shook his head, but before Xigbar could ask why Axel started to talk.

"I need your help with something. I'll ask him if he wants to see you afterwards." Axel said, glaring at the wall behind Xigbar.

"What happened?" He asked, suddenly looking pissed.

"He didn't fall down the stairs, Xigbar." Axel said, looking him dead in the eyes. Nothing more needed to be said after that. He knew what happened.

"The nurse wouldn't listen to him though. Said he was imagining things." Axel growled out. Xigbar was pissed now. He marched over to the nursing station, Axel following right behind him, and when he arrived he slammed his hands on the counter, affectively scaring the shit out of the two women behind the counter.

"Where's the nurse and or doctor taking care of Roxas Osment?" Xigbar ground out, glaring at the women.

"I-I don't know sir." One of them said.

"Well could you please go get one of them? We really need to have a word with the incompetent people caring for him." The woman nodded then hurried off to go find one of them. Xigbar turned back to Axel.

"Explain. Now, before they get back." Xigbar said. So Axel quickly told the older boy what Roxas had said to him. The doctor arrived just as Axel had finished explaining.

"What seems to be the problem gentlemen?" He asked. He was tall, with long slicked back blonde hair and blue eyes and he had a mustache goatee combo. He wore the long white doctors coat with black slacks and leather shoes. He had on a white button up and blue tie with a black vest over that.

"Your Roxas's doctor?" Xigbar asked the man nodded.

"Roxas tells us that he didn't fall down the stairs. And when he tried to tell the nurse she told him he was just imagining things and left." Axel said, arms crossed lips pursed and glaring heatedly at the much older man. He slowly raised a brow at this.

"Well, considering the boy hit his head, that is possible. Why don't we go talk to Roxas about this?" The man said.

"Roxas is currently having a break down about the whole situation!" Axel quietly hissed, not wanting anyone else to hear. The blonde slightly raised a brow at this, but other wise, he didn't seem affected by this.

"Well, what does Roxas claim happened then?"

"He's not claiming anything. He's not imagining anything. He _knows_ what happened! And we," Xigbar paused to gesture between himself and Axel. "Know that he's not lying."

The man sighed in exasperation, but asked them what happened once more.

"His father beat the shit out of him!" Axel growled, dropping his hands to his sides in tight fists. The man seemed more interested in this information than anything else. But just when Axel and Xigbar thought they'd gotten through to him, he proved them wrong.

"What makes you think this?"

* * *

><p>Roxas had finally calmed down after a bit. He was still wicked upset, but he wasn't crying anymore. He had faith in Axel, and with Xigbar by his side, there was no fucking way they wouldn't believe it. So after calming down he decided to just try and relax and watch the TV. After about ten minutes though, he heard yelling coming from the hall way. He knew two of those voices, they were Axel and Xigbar, but the other was completely new. Someone else soon joined the conversation though, and Roxas only knew who it was because Axel yelled at her.<p>

"Kate fucking tell him! Tell him what that asshole fucking did!" He screamed. Roxas's eyes widened. His mom?

Roxas bit his lip as angry tears welled in his eyes. He kicked the blankets off his body and sat up as quickly as he could manage. His body was screaming at him in agony, but he ignored it, too determined and filled with adrenaline to care. He swung his legs over the side of the bed then shakily got to his feet. He grabbed his heart monitor and slowly made his way to the door. He ripped it open, looking to his left he found more patient rooms, but to his right was the nurses station. There stood Axel and Xigbar, yelling furiously at a tall blonde man and trying to convince Roxas's mother to tell the doctor's the truth. He slowly made his way over to the arguing group. None of them noticed him. They were far too caught up in the dispute to pay any attention to their surroundings.

"Cut it the fuck out!" Roxas yelled, looking furiously between the four people. When he said he believed Axel would be able to handle this, he never imagined that it would involve a screaming match, that's why he'd let Axel go. But seriously, they were in a fucking hospital for Christsake!

Everyone was shocked, not only by the sudden outburst, but the fact that Roxas was actually out of his bed. The blonde man was the first one to snap back into reality.

"Roxas, you're not supposed to be out of bed. Your going to hurt yourself even more. Now come on, back to bed." The man said, grabbing Roxas's uninjured arm to drag him back.

"Don't you fucking touch me!" He said, wrenching his arm out of the man's grasp. His eyes widened at the outburst and bold action, but before he had a chance to say anything on it, Roxas rounded on him.

"Now your going to fucking listen to me and I swear on all that is holy if you don't I will cut off your balls and force them down your throat." Roxas said in a calm, yet threatening tone that even freaked out Xigbar.

"Now I don't care what my mother fucking told you happened. Because I know what happened and I know what's been happening to me and my mother for the whole fifteen years that I have been alive. And those two there," Roxas paused to point at Axel and Xigbar. "They're the only two beings I've trusted with this information. They've seen the bruises and the scars and the pain that this has caused my mother and I. Now I don't know why she's lying, I don't know why she refuses to turn that..."

Roxas had to pause for another moment, suddenly feeling dizzy and lightheaded. "That asshole in. But I... I..."

Roxas didn't get to finish as he blacked out for the second time that week.

* * *

><p><em>"Remove his wristbands" The voice commanded. His eyes snapped open wide at that and he started shaking his head, gripping his wristband with his left hand.<em>

_"No! Don't touch them!" He groaned out. The people ignored him though and tried to grab at his wristbands. He couldn't let them take away his wristbands. They'd see them. The scars. No one could see those, only one person could, not them! He started thrashing about on the bed, determined to keep them, but stopped when the commanding voice told them to just leave them alone for the time being._

When he did finally wake up again, he was back in his hospital room. The lights, thankfully, were off this time, but the TV was still on and Axel was sitting in one of the chairs again. But this time, Xigbar was there as well.

"Hey kiddo. How you feeling?" Xigbar said, being the first to notice he was awake. Upon those words though, Axel quickly got up from his chair to check on the blonde.

"Roxas, are you okay?" Axel asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Axel. Promise." He said, smiling reassuringly. Axel sighed in relief.

"You almost gave me a heart attack." Axel said.

"I'm sorry... What happened? After I blacked out I mean." Roxas said, looking curiously between the two.

"We brought you back in here. You're father came up at one point, but Xigbar and I kicked him out. Your mom though... She didn't decide to go tell the doctor the truth till about six minutes ago. Xigbar and I almost got kicked out though." Axel said, scratching the back of his neck and smiling sheepishly. They were all silent for a moment, the only sound being the TV quietly playing cartoons.

"Axel?" Roxas said, breaking the short silence. Axel gave him a small hum of acknowledgement.

"Thank you... For helping me." Roxas said with a small smile. Axel smiled back and kissed the blonde on the forehead.

"No problem, Roxy. I'd do anything for you, you know that." Axel said with a smile of his own. Roxas reached over with his good hand and squeezed Axel's in his own, then looked to Xigbar.

"And you too Xigbar. Thank you." Roxas said, his smile turned to the older boy now. Xigbar looked up in surprise at the words then blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"It was nothing, kiddo." He mumbled. It was silent for a moment longer as Roxas looked over the two boys. Xigbar wore baggy jeans with a black hoodie. His hair wasn't pulled back into his usual ponytail, but rather hung around his shoulders in a mess. He looked a bit better than Axel though, who's skin was still pale and hair a lifeless tangled mess. He had on baggy jeans as well, though his weren't staying in their proper place on his hips, kind of making him wonder if they were even his jeans. Then he wore a black tank top that fit snugly to his chest and a gray denim vest with a black good attached to it.

"You guys look like shit." Roxas said, smiling slightly. Xigbar and Axel looked at him in surprise for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"You're one to talk there kiddo." Xigbar said with a small snort. Roxas chuckled and nodded slightly.

"I'm sure your right. But I haven't exactly seen what I look like yet." Roxas pointed out. Axel and Xigbar chuckled as they agreed with the blonde.

Axel honestly couldn't believe how well Roxas was taking this right now. How the hell did he do it? He seemed so strong, but Roxas insisted he wasn't. But if he wasn't strong, then why would he be able to sit here right now and laugh with him and Xigbar? Act as though nothing had happened?

"Roxas, sweetie?" His mother kind, quiet voice broke in, breaking them all from their thoughts. Roxas turned to look curiously at her.

"Yeah?" She looked nervous and she was twiddling her fingers as her gaze was settled on the floor.

"We need to talk."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so, I kind of promised one of you a longer chapter. But I guess updating two days in a row can make up for that? Maybe? Please? I wanted to get this up right now, because one of you pointed out that today is the third anniversarybirthday of this fix and I wanna celebrate that a bit lol. Kind a funny how a tragic chapter is the celebrating update haha. Hope you liked it though, and much love to you all! And as always, thank you all so much! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening! See you next update!**


	21. Chapter 21

**DatGuest**

**Haha right? There was one time I almost posted four days in a row, but on the forth day my little sisters snatched up the laptop before I could. Those three days of updates were awesome though :)**

**When I was writing this, all I could think about was the week I spent with my oldest brother in the hospital about two months ago. He got into a motorcycle wreck on April first and it was my mom's birthday. When I was discribing Roxas's hospital room I was actually discribing the one my brother stayed in lol.**

**Haha I am. I guess a lot of people interpret it that way, but the way I look at it is different I guess. I prefer men, I've only ever liked one female in that way, and she's one of my best friends. She's bi, and we dated for like a day XD. But like I said, I prefer guys, but love is love to me so I have no problem with loving a female.**

**The jokes will continue in the future. Believe me, someone's gonna bring up homosexuality or something and I'm gonn get called a pandasexual again.**

**My ten year old sister is homophobic (it's ironic, because she loves the crap out of Ellen Degenres) so when I told my mom my sexuality she was all like "can I tell your sister?! She'll probably stop talking to you after this!" Lol.**

**Lol male or female, I couldn't pick my clothes for the life of me. I'm too indecisive.**

**Oh, you're fine sweetheart, I don't mind the spam :)**

* * *

><p>Roxas looked curiously at his fidgeting mother, but nodded none the less.<p>

"Xigbar, Axel, could you give us a moment?" Roxas's mother asked. Roxas gripped Axel's hand tightly. He wasn't going to let him leave. Whatever she had to say, she could tell to Axel too. Besides, he was just going to tell him immediately after anyways.

"Axel stays." Roxas said. The three of them all looked at Roxas in slight surprise, though Xigbar's soon changed to one of disappointment. Roxas felt kind of bad about it, but Xigbar wasn't his boyfriend anymore. Axel was. And though Xigbar knew about a couple things Axel didn't, that didn't change that Axel was the one he shared important things with now.

His mother looked quite wary of the idea of Axel staying, but she said nothing of it. So with that said, Xigbar got out of his seat and left the hospital room. His mother took the seat Xigbar had been previously sitting in and Axel carefully sat on the edge of the bed by Roxas, seeing as he didn't want to release Axel's hand.

"What did you need to talk about?" Roxas asked. His mother took a deep breath and tightly clasped her hands together.

"I told Dr. Ansem about your father. He's going to call the police an they will go take care of him." She said. Axel smiled widely at Roxas.

"That's great news!" He said, and Roxas couldn't help but smile slightly at his boyfriend.

"That's not... All I need to tell you though sweetie." She paused to take a deep breath then looked up at Roxas and Axel. They were both looking at her with wide curious eyes as they waited for her to continue.

"Roxas, you used to have a brother. His name was Ventus. You were completely identical, the only way we had been able to tell you two apart was by the differences in how you both acted. He wasn't very active, in all the time he'd been alive he maybe cried once. But you were so easily irritable, it was hard to please you sometimes. Your father would say Ventus was a useless child because he did nothing, he wouldn't even play. But you were happiest so long as he was with you. One night, your father had gone out for a drive. I'd been working all day so I hadn't seen either of you boys. But when I got home you were screaming just non stop and I-I couldn't find Ventus. Your father was leaving the moment I walked through the door, so I couldn't ask him about it till he got home. For all I knew he could have come back in the house and taken him along. I guess I just wasn't really thinking." She said. Her voice was cracking by this point and she dropped her face in her hands. Roxas's eyes were as wide as they could possibly get and his grip on Axel's hand had tightened so much that Axel's fingers were turning red.

"What happened?" Roxas asked when his mother didn't continue.

"Your father... He killed Ventus. Then he went and made it look like a car accident. He came home later that night after I'd put you to bed, not a scratch on him. But Ventus was still missing. I asked him where he was, and I don't know why he told me. He could have just lied and told me he got into an accident with Ventus in the car and he died. But he told me he killed him. Said we didn't need such a useless child. I told him he was sick. That I was wanted a divorce and then I went to call the cops. But he stopped me. He said if I called the cops he would kill me and then killed you. I didn't want to lose you too Roxas. You deserved to live your life, just liked Ventus did. I just wish I could have kept Ventus safer." She broke down crying at this point, and Roxas wished he could go over and hug her, but he couldn't in his condition.

"So that's why... You wouldn't call the cops on him all these years? You were protecting me?" Roxas asked as tears welled in his eyes. His mother nodded slightly as she continued to cry.

"I... I never thought you would stand up to your father like that. I'm still kind of unsure of what even happened yesterday. I only heard you yell then when ai came in you had your father on the floor and you were hitting him. Then, next thing I knew was you were on the floor and your father was..." She trailed off, choking up at the memory. Axel placed his free hand on her shoulder and smiled slightly.

"It's okay, Kate. We know." Axel said. She looked up at the red head and gave him a teary smile.

"Thank you, Axel. Roxas, Dr. Ansem told me I should prepare you, because there will be police coming in to talk to you. I'm so sorry things went this far baby. I never thought you'd end up in the hospital, if I'd known I would have done something about this all. But I thank God you're still alive." She said, reaching over and gently placing her hand over Roxas's broken one.

"It's okay mom. I started it." Roxas said, keeping his eyes on the white blanket laid over his lap.

"I know sweetie. I'm actually kind of proud of you." She said, grinning. Roxas looked up at her with wide eyes then slowly started to laugh, making Axel laugh and his mother chuckle.

"Well baby, I need to go talk to Dr. Ansem again then pop down to the car and grab the things I brought you. I'll let Xigbar know he can come back in and I'll be back soon." Kate explained as she stood from her seat. "I love you sweetie."

"Love you too mom."

She left the room after that and moments later, Xigbar walked back into the room.

"Hey tiger, everything alright?" Xigbar asked as he sat down. Axel looked over to Roxas, brows slightly worried and eyes holding a curious gleam.

"Yeah. My dad's gonna get arrested." Roxas said with a small smile.

* * *

><p>"Are you staying with him again?" A familiar voice whispered. Roxas couldn't remember exactly when he'd fallen asleep, but he knew it was a little after the nurse had come and given him his medication. So when he woke up it was already dark out and the only lights in his room was the dim light over the sink and the soft glow of the TV.<p>

"Of course I am! I'm not going to leave his side till he's okay." That was Axel. He knew that for sure.

"What about school?" The voice asked. He knew it, he just couldn't place it with how hazed he was from sleep.

"Fuck school! Roxas is more important to me than school work."

"Axel, you've already been held back a year." Wait what? Axel was held back a year? Why hadn't he told him?

"Do you really want to shoot for another?"

"It's not like I'm going to be out for three months. The doctor says Roxas will be in here for a week at the most. Then I'll return to school."

"Axel I don't think-"

"Reno," Roxas felt like a moron now for not guessing that. It seemed so obvious now! "I'm staying with him and that's final. If your really so worried about it then just bring over my work after school or something. But I'm not leaving. Not even mom can make me."

There was a small silence then a soft sigh.

"Fine. But mom's not going to be too happy when she hears about this." Reno said. Roxas could just imagine him running a hand through his hair.

"Whatever. Mom doesn't even know about half the shit we do. She's too fucking busy with work to care about us." Axel scoffed. Another sigh, then;

"I know Ax. But she does it for us. Things have been tough since dad died."

"I don't care anymore, Reno. If this is all your here to talk about then just go home." Axel said, his voice irate.

"Fine. I'll see you later, Ax. Take care of yourself."

"Yeah. You too Reno"

After that Roxas heard the door click shut. Axel then sighed and walked over to the chair he'd been sitting in most of the day.

"You were held back a year?" Roxas asked suddenly. Axel jumped in the chair and looked over to Roxas with wide eyes.

"Fuck Roxy, you scared the shit out of me." Axel said. Roxas frowned slightly.

"Sorry." It was silent for a moment before Axel spoke again.

"Yeah, I was. It was the year my dad died. I was pretty out of it after his death, I couldn't concentrate in school so I ended up failing and having to repeat that year." Axel explained.

"So your sixteen?" Roxas inquired

"I will be on August first."

Roxas nodded slightly in understanding as the room went silent. Roxas couldn't understand why Axel hadn't told him. He'd just automatically assumed Axel was his age. Though, there was probably still quite a bit the two didn't know about each other. This seemed like an important factor though. It didn't really change their relationship, after all Xigbar was two years older than him, but it would've been nice to know.

"You know, you're still wearing those fucking wristbands." Axel said with a light chuckle. Roxas glanced at his wrists then flicked his eyes back to the TV.

"Yeah. They're really important to me." Roxas said, faking a small smile. In the back of his brain a little voice was screaming at him to just tell Axel about the cutting and that he would help him. But that voice was more or less ignored as the rest of his brain said he didn't need to because his reason for cutting was gone and he wouldn't do that stuff anymore.

"Your mom says you freaked out when the doctors tried to take them off. You were thrashing around so much, they just had to leave you alone." Axel said, moving so he was slouching in his chair like he had been earlier that day. Roxas could have sworn his heart stopped in his chest. Did Axel know? Or did he at least suspect that Roxas was hiding something? If he did Roxas was screwed. There was no lying to him about it after that. "Are they really that important?"

"Yeah, I guess they are." Roxas said nervously.

* * *

><p>Roxas laid in bed two days later, half aware of what he was watching and what was going on. The cops had come by the day before and got Roxas's testimony about what had happened with his father and had been going on over the years. They also spoke to Axel a bit about what he knew of the situation. All lights in the room were off and the shades were closed, making the room pretty dark, but not so dark that you couldn't see. Axel had left about ten minutes ago to go get something to eat out of the cafeteria. He kept complaining that the food they gave to the patients sucked. Roxas agreed, but with the pain medications and all that's been going on lately, Roxas had found he wasn't very hungry. Axel said was still going to get him something to eat anyways. It didn't matter too much he supposed. If he got hungry later then he could eat it.<p>

So, when Roxas heard the door open, he expected Axel to come walking through it. Not his bouncy, happy-go-lucky cousin and his two best friends.

Sora was immediately by Roxas's bed side with wide worried eyes while Kairi stood at the end of his bed with a smile and Riku stood by the wall, leaning against it and looking as though he really didn't want to be there. Roxas couldn't really blame him. He didn't want to be there either. He hated hospitals. Anything medical just freaked him out.

"Oh my God, Roxas! You look like you got hit by a truck! Are you feeling okay? Is anyone taking care of you? Like your mom or something?" Sora said quickly as he looked over the blonde. Roxas was giving him an utterly baffled look, but just as he was about to say something to Sora, Riku but in.

"Sora, calm down and take a step back. You're crowding him." Riku said. Sora looked at Riku questioningly for a moment before it seemed to click and he stepped back, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry Rox. Are you feeling alright?"

"It's okay. I'm doing as well as I can be." Roxas said, smiling slightly at the brunette.

"So, who's been taking care of you?" Kairi asked curiously as she sat in the chair behind Sora.

"Axel's been taking care of me."

"Oh that's so sweet of him." Kairi said, sighing dreamily.

"That explains why he hasn't been in school." Riku said quietly, but loud enough for them to hear.

"Axel hasn't been in school?" Sora asked, confusion clear on his face as he looked at Riku.

"Wow, you're as sharp as a tack there, Sora." Riku said sarcastically with a roll of the eyes. Sora pouted and crossed his arms over his chest as he plopped down into Axel's chair. Yes, Roxas had decided to dub that Axel's chair since he was always sitting there. He only got up for Roxas's mother when the other chair was taken. When that was the case though, he'd just sit on the bed beside Roxas.

"Shut up, Riku! I just don't pay attention to that kind of stuff." Sora said.

"Can you say ADHD?" Kairi teased with a small giggle. Riku smiled at that and Roxas let out a small chuckle.

"Aw come on, you too, Kairi!" Sora whinnied.

"What did Kairi do?" Axel asked as he entered the room. Roxas's head snapped over at the sound of his voice and a smile spread across his face. He held three containers in one hand and a rather large drink in the other.

"Hey Ax. What did ya get me?" Roxas asked. Axel looked at Roxas then the containers, then back to Roxas.

"A burger and fries. And I got you a surprise for dessert." Axel grinned then started to place everything on the small table they pushed into the corner whenever Roxas was done eating.

"So, what did Kairi do again?" Axel asked once more.

"She was just teasing Sora about being ADHD." Riku explained.

"Oh. Demyx has ADHD. He's pretty laid back about it though. He even makes fun of himself sometimes for it." Axel smiled and sat on Roxas's bed. "So, how you feeling babe?"

"Like I'm high." Roxas said with a giggle. Axel chuckled and kissed him on the forehead.

"Are you hungry yet?" Axel asked. Roxas bit his lip as he thought it over for a moment then slowly shook his head.

"I'm good for now." Axel nodded in understanding then turned back to Sora and Kairi.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Axel asked. Sora scoffed at the question.

"He's my cousin Axel! Don't I have a right to visit him?" Sora said exasperatedly.

"Yes. But the nurses aren't supposed to let anyone in without asking Roxas." Axel said, staring deadpanned at Sora. The brunette's face dropped at this and he let out a quiet "oh" as he went back to pouting in Axel's chair. Roxas chuckled and smiled at Sora.

"It's okay. You didn't know, So." He said. Sora looked up in surprise and laughed.

"Thanks Rox. I think those meds are getting to you though." He grinned. Roxas looked curiously at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You're way more smiley than normal. I don't think I've ever seen you this cheerful."

Was he really? He hadn't even noticed. Though he doubted the medication had too much to do it. He figured, it was probably more about his father's arrest.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this pouty. You're like a kicked puppy." Roxas said with a small chuckle.

"Oh my god..." Kairi started with wide eyes. "Sora and Roxas have switched places!"

Everyone turned to look at her in confusion. It was silent for a small time, then Riku suddenly snorted and placed his hand over his mouth as he quietly laughed.

"What do you mean Kairi?" Sora asked, still confused about what she was saying.

"Well, you're normally the cheerful one Sora, and Roxas is the pouty one." Kairi said, though, she was interrupted by Roxas before she could continue.

"I'm not pouty!" He said incredulously.

"Roxy is just an aggressive person." Axel said, smiling at the blonde, who smiled back in thanks then grinned triumphantly at Kairi.

"I wouldn't call him Roxy, Axel. He hits." Sora said, suddenly not caring about Kairi's explanation anymore. Axel raised a brow to the brunette.

"Roxy's only hit me... Maybe twice? And that was just playful." Axel said.

"What?! Roxas always hit me whenever I called him Roxy! That's not fair, I'm calling you Roxy now!" Sora complained. Roxas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in hopes of preventing the headache he seemed to get when he spent too much time around Sora.

"Sora, get over here so I can slap you." Roxas said irritably.

Things continued on like this for a good hour and a half before a nurse came in and kicked the three visitors out for being too loud. Roxas didn't mind too much, and Sora promised to come back and visit the next day. Axel and Roxas's food was pretty much cold by the time they finally did get around to eating it, but they didn't mind it so much. Luckily though, the ice cream Axel had gotten for Roxas as a surprise hadn't melted yet, the ice in the container keeping it cold. Now, Roxas was laying in his bed, the back tilted up so he was in a sitting position. Axel had pulled his chair up some so that he could sit right next to the blonde and hold his injured hand. It was dark out by now, and the room was illuminated in the sickly florescent above the sink. They were watching Law and Order, though Roxas figured Axel was the only one really paying attention to it.

"Oh good, you're still awake." A familiar voice said from the entrance. Roxas and Axel both looked over curiously to see Reno standing there with a grin and Demyx standing behind him smiling happily.

"Yo kiddo." Reno said with a small salute. Roxas glanced over to Axel. He didn't seem very excited about the company as he slid farther down into his chair and glared slightly at the TV. All Roxas could figure was Axel was probably still upset about what happened the other night when he'd come for a visit.

"Hi Roxas! How you feeling?" Demyx said as he stepped out from behind Reno to go to Roxas's bed side.

"Hi Reno, Demyx. I'm doing pretty okay. What about you?" Roxas said with a small smile. Demyx sighed dramatically and plopped down in, what Roxas was now dubbing, the guest seat.

"Terrible! Larxene won't leave me alone!" Demyx complained. "I'm glad to see you're doing alright though. So what happened? The teachers just told us you had an accident and that you'd be out of school for a while."

Roxas looked down at Axel's hand that gently grasped his. He trusted Reno and Demyx with the information, it was just kind of difficult to say. Most kids didn't have to tell their best friends that their father beat the shit out of them.

"My dad actually happened." Roxas said quietly. When Roxas looked up at Demyx, he could swear his eyes were going to pop out of his head with how wide they were. Axel gave his hand a gentle, encouraging squeeze, and with a deep breath, Roxas continued. He told them what had happened two days before and what had been going on over the years.

"He'd never taken it this far though. I don't think my mom ever expected him to." Roxas said. He couldn't meet anyone but Axel's gaze at this point, who just smiled and had a loving gleam in his eyes.

"God, why didn't you ever do anything about it?" Demyx asked. He'd been wide eyed and jaw dropped through Roxas's story and Reno had stood against the wall with his brows furrowed and a frown placed firmly on his lips.

"My mom told me not to. I love my mom, so I'm not going to do something against her wishes." Roxas said. Axel decided this would be a good point to change the conversation, not wanting Roxas to have to talk about it anymore. And Roxas was more than thankful for this.

"So Dem, what's Larxene been doing?" Axel asked, looking curiously at the blonde.

"She just won't leave me alone! Every time I turn around it's like she's there. I've been hanging out with Luxord as much as possible though, and, for some reason, she stays away from him. But we really only get to hang out at lunch. But I did meet someone new! She kind of reminds me of Roxas sometimes with how she acts, but she's not as easily irritated." Demyx said, slowly starting to smile as he continued to speak.

"Really? What's her name?" Roxas asked curiously.

"Xion if I remember correctly. She has really short black hair and blue eyes like yours and she might just be a couple inches shorter than you." Roxas's head dropped at that. He knew he was short, this was made clear every time he stood next to Axel. The red head was pretty close to six feet tall, where as Roxas was only like 5'3". Roxas never really got too upset about his height, it was just kind of depressing at times. His mother had a hunch he wasn't going to grow much more though, and that just made it worse.

"She's really cool though, and she's our age, but she'll stand up to Larxene." Demyx said with a smile.

"Well, it's good to hear your not totally alone." Roxas said with a small smile.

* * *

><p>After this, the rest of the week seemed to pass by in a slow mind numbing manner, even when people came to visit. So when Roxas was finally told he would be going home, Axel and himself were more than ecstatic. Axel knew that he would still be barely leaving Roxas's side, but at least they'd have more to do than just sit around and watch TV. They couldn't count how many times they sat there, unable to find something to watch on the TV, and just watched something completely stupid, like the shopping channel.<p>

"I'm so excited that you're coming home sweetie! And Axel, you wanted to spend the night for a while right?" Kate asked as they sat in the car, heading for Roxas's house. Since Roxas's father had been taken off to jail, Roxas and Axel had both noticed that there was a lot more life in the woman. Not only in her personality, but in her appearance as well. Her hair had more color to it, still not like Roxas's, but it was better than before. She had color in her cheeks again, and her eyes sparkled with a light Roxas had never seen in them before. Her hair was actually done in a proper style, rather than the messy pony tail Roxas was used to, and she was actually wearing a dress. Roxas hadn't seen his mother wear a dress since he was a child. It was a beautiful yellow, sleeveless dress with a low cut and it hung just above her knees. She actually put on make up today, not a lot, just white eye shadow and black liner on her water line.

"If it's alright with you, Kate." Axel said with a soft smile.

"Of course it is sweetheart! You're always welcome. And you don't have to call me Kate. You can call me mom if you want." She said, smiling happily. Axel chuckled at the woman's enthusiasm and nodded.

"Alright, thank you."

"Mom, you look beautiful today." Roxas said with a bright smile. She glanced down at her outfit with a light blush then smiled a bit sheepishly at Roxas.

"Oh thank you sweetie. I kind of just wanted to look nice for you today, since you were coming home and all." She said. Roxas just smiled and tried to enjoy the rest of the car ride. It was kind of hard since he could feel every little bump they hit and it caused his whole body to ache.

"We're almost home babe, don't worry." Axel said, smiling reassuringly and squeezing his free hand.

Roxas didn't know what he'd do without Axel. He'd been fantastic over the week Roxas had spent in the hospital. He helped him with practically everything, even trying to help him learn how to use his left hand for everything. So far, he only had eating down. That one wasn't really difficult though. Writing was going to be a far more difficult task. There were times when Roxas would ask him why he was doing it all and Axel would just call him stubborn and brush it off.

As they pulled into the driveway of their home, his mother tried to park as carefully as possible, but that didn't change the small dip on the right side of the drive or how much the bump killed his ribs when they hit. His face scrunched up in pain and he tightly gripped Axel's hand in his.

"You okay?" Axel asked, looking worriedly at Roxas. Roxas slowly nodded, even though it wasn't very convincing since his face was still contorted in pain.

"I'm so sorry sweetie." His mother said, turning in her seat to look at Roxas.

"It's okay mom. I'm fine." Roxas said, waving her off and opening the car door.

"Honey, wait a sec!" His mother said quickly. Roxas stopped and looked curiously at his mother.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to let you know, Sora decided that since you had to spend your birthday in the hospital he was going to throw you a surprise party. I didn't really think a surprise party would be a great idea, but he insisted, and you know how Sora is. So, he's inside right now with your friends." Kate explained. Roxas sighed.

Leave it to Sora to plan a surprise party. Especially for someone who doesn't even like parties for that matter.

Roxas slowly climbed out of the car, Axel right behind him. Axel helped him make his way over to the house and up the stairs. Since it took so long for him to make his way up, his mother was already right there, ready to unlock the door. When they finally made it into the house, Roxas immediately headed for the stairs, dragging Axel with him.

"I'm going up to my room." Roxas called back to his mother. Axel covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to stifle a laugh.

"Roxas!" She hissed quietly, looking sternly at her son. Roxas sighed and his shoulders slumped. Ever so slowly, he trudged his way into the living room, only to have his ear drums nearly burst as several people jumped up from their hiding spots and yelled out "surprise". Roxas stared at everyone with the most deadpan look they'd ever seen, then slowly turned his head to look at his mother.

"Can I go to my room now?" He practically whinnied. The look she gave him told him the answer to that question. He sighed and looked back to the party. Everyone seemed to have deflated at this point.

"You told him?!" Sora asked, looking like a kicked puppy.

"She didn't. I'm just not easily surprised, so shut the fuck up, Sora." Roxas said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Roxas!" Kate scolded.

"Sorry. Please shut the fuck up, Sora." Roxas corrected. He knew he was pissing off his mother, but he'd later feel guilty for not being able to give a damn at the moment.

"Roxas!" She said again, looking more irritated. God help him, for there was a great chance he might bash his skull into the wall and end up back in the hospital.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Roxas conceded, not wanting to further irritate his mother and feel like a tit for it later. "Can I go to my room now?"

"No. You're going to stay down here for a bit and humor your cousin, because he was sweet enough to put this whole thing together for you. Now go sit." His mother said. Roxas sighed, once again, and slowly made his way over to the couch, cringing as he slowly sat down.

* * *

><p>The party passed by agonizingly slow. There wasn't a whole lot of people there, it was Sora, Riku and Kairi, then Vanitas was there, along with Reno, Demyx, Luxord and the girl Demyx had told Roxas about when he came for a visit, Xion. Then, his aunt and uncle were there, mostly to take care of Vanitas. Though they did a terrible job of it, seeing as the only one the boy listened to was Roxas. He'd eventually been introduced to Xion, and they hit it off great, and he'd also spoken to Luxord some more, finally understanding through the conversation as to why Axel had lost all his money to the man every time they hung out for too long. Roxas couldn't understand why Riku and Kairi had come to the party, seeing as they mostly just stood across the room talking to each other. It was quite obvious that the only people they really knew were Sora and Roxas. Sora was busy socializing with everyone else though, and as for Roxas, most of his time was being spent with Axel. After sometime, Sora finally decided it was time for presents and cake. They sadly didn't make it to cake though as Roxas's pain medication was wearing off and he nearly fell over in absolute pain. His mother had gone about kicking everyone out while Axel hurried to get Roxas's medication for him. After the meds had kicked in about a half hour later, Axel had lead the blonde upstairs to have him lay down. That was what brought us around to now, two hours after the blonde had laid down.<p>

Axel sauntered into Roxas's room, clad in just his black pajama bottoms, one hand was placed on his hip and the other was buried in the back of his hair as he looked confusedly around the room. Roxas slowly raised a brow to this. What the hell was he doing?

"You okay, Ax?" Roxas asked after a moment of watching the older boy.

"Yeah, I just can't find my lotion." Axel muttered as he walked over to his bag and started to rummage through it. Roxas furrowed his brows in confusion and struggled for a moment to sit up.

"Why do you need lotion?" Roxas asked, making a face at the pain in his chest.

"Uh... No reason, just for the usual purposes a person uses lotion." Axel said. It didn't really sound like he was nervous. More like he was irritated.

"So you put lotion on your hands?" That didn't really sound right. Axel's hands weren't very soft. Not that he was complaining, but still, his hands wouldn't be that rough if he used lotion.

"Yes. No. I don't know right now, Roxas. Have you seen a round blue bottle. It says 'Stiltskin's Moogle Cream' on it and it has a picture of a Moogle." Axel said. Roxas scratched the back of his head in thought then slowly shook his head.

"No. I think Sora left some of his here once, but it smells like paopu fruit." Axel's nose scrunched and he shook his head.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather not smell like fruit." Axel said, sighing as he stood up and ran a hand through his hair.

"I can't blame you." Roxas said with a light chuckle.

"I'll just go ask your mom if she has any." And with that, Axel left the room, leaving behind a confused Roxas.

Why did Axel need lotion so bad? Couldn't he go without for like a night or two?

Moments later, Axel walked back into the room, seeming a bit calmer now.

"Did she have any?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna have to go buy more tomorrow though." Axel said as he went about putting his things back in his bag. "Anyways, did you have fun at your party?"

Roxas groaned and slapped his free hand to his face. "God no. That was terrible." Axel chuckled and slowly made his way over to the bed.

"I'm sorry. If I'd known I would've stopped Sora." Axel said, sitting on the edge and stroking a hand through his blonde locks.

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault. It just fucking hurt, you know?" Roxas said.

"Why didn't you say something then?" Axel asked, his voice incredulous. Roxas shrugged slightly and slowly laid back down.

"Cause I could handle it then. It wasn't till my meds wore off that it got really bad." Axel sighed and shook his head.

"Your stubbornness is going to be the death of you kid."

"Sorry."

They were silent for a bit after that, Axel continuing to run his fingers through Roxas's hair (making it stick up more than usual) and Roxas fiddling with the brace on his hand and wrist. He knew he should probably leave it alone, especially since he had a bad habit of opening and closing the straps, but he really couldn't help it at this point. It was kind of like a nervous habit.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you your present yet." Axel said suddenly, breaking the silence. Roxas immediately burst into loud laughter, but quickly regretted it as pain shot through his chest.

"Shit!" He hissed, taking a few deep breaths as he tried to will away the pain.

"Are you alright?" Axel asked worriedly. Roxas slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Laughing just hurts." Roxas paused for a moment, allowing the pain to pass before speaking again. "I don't need you to give me a present, Axel. All I need is you."

Axel snorted at this.

"That's so cheesy, Roxy." He said amusedly. Roxas chuckled and nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I guess it is. But it's true. I mean, after all you've done this week, I really don't need a gift. This," Roxas grabbed Axel's hand and smiled. "is enough."

Axel smiled and moved to kiss Roxas on the forehead. "I love you, Roxas. But your still getting a present."

"Screw you man." Roxas said with a light chuckle.

"I wouldn't mind screwing you." Axel grinned cheekily. "But I don't want to hurt you even more."

Roxas chuckled and shook his head. "Shut up and get in bed."

Axel laughed and got up, turning off the light then slowly making his way back over to the bed, climbing in with the blonde. Roxas cringed as he adjusted himself in the bed as the doctor had told him to. Laying on his side with the fractured ribs and his wrist sitting atop Axel's chest so it would stay elevated.

As he slowly started to relax into the warm body of his red haired boyfriend everything started to sink in. He'd been attacked... By his own father. So violently that he ended up in the hospital. He was broken right now, and in so much pain that he couldn't even go to school. He had a concussion, a broken wrist, two fractured ribs and bruising inside and out of his body. If it weren't for his mother, it might have been worse.

Roxas's eyes were starting to burn with fresh tears and a lump formed in his throat. He tried to hold it back, will away the tears, but it didn't work. With a quiet, choked sob Roxas broke down into tears, startling Axel.

"Roxas, what's the matter?" Axel asked worriedly.

"It's too much." Roxas sobbed, digging his nails into Axel's arm and burying his face in Axel's chest. As the words slowly sunk in Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas, stroking his back and shushing him in hopes of calming him down.

"It's okay baby, it's okay. Everything will be fine. I'm here, I'm not gonna leave. Calm down baby, it's alright." Axel said. Roxas was calming down some by that point, but only enough to talk.

"I'm sorry." He choked out, wiping at his eyes. Axel chuckled lightly.

"What are you sorry for?"

"For just suddenly breaking down on you." Axel laughed a bit more and kissed the blonde's head.

"Don't apologize for that. After everything you've been through, it's perfectly natural for you to cry, Roxas. Hell, I'm surprised you held out this long." Axel said, smiling slightly at Roxas, even though he couldn't see him. The two were silent for a while longer, Roxas trying to calm down as Axel continued to rub his back.

"Axel?" Roxas started, breaking the silence.

"Yeah Rox?"

"Thank you... For everything, Axel." Roxas said, moving up so he could kiss his boyfriend. "I love you."

Axel smiled and kissed the blonde again. "I love you too Roxas."

Roxas curled into the red head, relaxing once more into the warmth. His position was still painful, but it didn't stop him from falling asleep quickly to the soft beating of Axel's heart. Axel, though he was tired, wasn't as lucky as Roxas as he stayed up a while longer, his thoughts consumed by the blonde. It scared him. Seeing Roxas just break down like that. Over the time he'd known Roxas he couldn't exactly recall the boy crying. He'd been so strong, no matter what he went through, he didn't break. Zack had been the same. Though Axel had never seen him cry. He probably would've had a break down as well if he saw Zack cry. After all, if someone like Zack could break like that, what hope would he have?

* * *

><p><strong>There, there is your long chapter! See? I made up for it lol. I just wanna say real quick, I'm not picking on people with ADHD. That comment was seriously something my friends and I would say. We just tease each other like that, it's how we get along. I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It took kind of long in my opinion :( but I don't know. I'm so used to posting a new chapter within a couple days that when it takes longer it just feels like forever! But anyways, much love to you all! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening! See you all next time!<strong>


	22. Chapter 22

Roxas had been stuck in bed for about a week or two. His mother had taken that time off of work to take care of him and make sure he wasn't pushing himself (aka getting out of bed) to do too much. Axel had gone back to school by this point, mostly to satisfy Reno, who still wasn't very happy about Axel being out for just a weeks time. Axel wanted to stay home with Roxas, but Reno wasn't having it. Axel was, however, still staying over Roxas's house, and he promised to continue till Roxas was better. His mother didn't seem to mind the possibility of Axel staying with them for over a month, she actually seemed quite excited about it, and Roxas couldn't really complain. Always having his boyfriend around was pretty nice.

But point being, Roxas wasn't too happy about not being allowed out of bed. He was beyond restless and he couldn't take it anymore. So even though he knew it would be extremely painful, he lied through his teeth when he told his mother he'd be fine going back to school.

So now, here he was, his first day back to school on the bus and already in a good deal of pain. At the moment, he knew he was just waiting for his damn pain medication to kick in, but he also knew it had to do with not getting out of bed for the past two weeks. Honestly, that was doing nothing for his healing and he knew it. The only way he would get better was if he tried to strengthen himself again. After all, he was supposed to just rest when it hurt right?

"Roxas are you sure your going to be up for this? Cause I can call your mom to pick you up if you can't." Axel said, looking worriedly at the blonde. Roxas quickly shook his head, pursing his lips and furrowing his brows.

"I'm fine, Ax. I'm just waiting for my meds to kick in. I can do this though. Don't worry about me." Roxas said. He knew it probably wasn't very reassuring since he was holding a hand over his aching ribs and making a face everytime they hit the smallest of bumps, (which were a lot more often than you would think) but he wasn't going home to be forced to laze around in bed again.

They were silent after that, Roxas looking at the window, getting lost in his thoughts again and hand sitting over his ribs. Axel shook his head at the boys stubborn determination and rested his head against the back of the seat. The only noise Roxas could hear was the low rumble of the bus and the quiet chatter between random students. Most were too tired to even think of something to talk about. As they were arriving at the school, Roxas's mess were starting to kick in, but that didn't stop the speed bump they hit from shooting pain through his chest and arm.

"Shit! Fucking son of a bitch!" Roxas cursed loudly, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut. Axel jolted in his seat and quickly set about fussing over the blonde. The ignorant asshole (in Axel's mind at least) of a bus driver was rather unconcerned with why Roxas had cursed and more concerned with his strict policy of following the rules of the bus. Meaning, no cursing allowed. He hollered back at Roxas and Axel that it wasn't allowed and that he'd have to give them a write up. Asshole. Axel ignored him though as he looked over his blonde boyfriend.

"Are you alright baby?" He asked worriedly, stroking Roxas's back. Roxas took a couple deep breaths and slowly nodded.

"I'm fine. He just hit that speed bump too hard." Roxas muttered. Axel quickly shot a fiery glare at the fat man then turned back to Roxas with that same worried expression. Soon enough the bus stopped and students quickly made their way off. Roxas and Axel were one of the last to get off, Axel flipping off the driver as he stepped off the bus, leaving the man shocked for a good minute.

"Axel!" Roxas hissed, brows furrowed and frowning disapprovingly. "You're going to get us kicked off the bus like that!"

Axel shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "Whatever. I'll just get Reno to give us a ride from now on. He won't be an asshole to you."

Normally, Roxas would agree one hundred percent that their bus driver was an asshole, because honestly, that man wrote you up for everything. He took the job way too seriously. But Roxas knew the man hadn't intentionally hurt him. How could he? He didn't even know Roxas had been hurt.

"Axel, he didn't-"

"I don't care Roxas. That man's a total asshole whether he meant to do it or not." Axel said, cutting him off as he seemed to know what Roxas was going to say.

Damn mind reader.

"Damn straight." Axel said with a cheeky grin. Okay, either Axel could really read his mind or he knew Roxas that well. Either way, it was kind of freaky.

"You're thinking about tacos!" Axel said, wiggling his fingers around as if he were trying to seem magical. Roxas chuckled and shook his head.

"You couldn't be more wrong." Roxas said. Axel snapped his fingers.

"Damn, that normally works." Roxas chuckled and shook his head, grabbing Axel's hand in his and dragging him toward the school. Axel was kind of surprised, Roxas normally wasn't so bold. Even though most knew of their status, Roxas wasn't one to flaunt it around. He was actually kind of shy about it. And even though Axel was more open about it than Roxas, he didn't mind that. So what was going on with the blonde?

Maybe it was just nerves. Coming back to school for the first time in three weeks, it could be kind of uncomfortable. It could be for support. Either way, Axel wasn't going to object.

* * *

><p>"You should join the track team." Axel said suddenly, laying on Roxas's bed and throwing a rubber band ball in the air. Roxas had just taken a shower and was putting on his wristbands as he exited the bathroom.<p>

"What?" Roxas asked confusedly, pausing in adjusting his checkered wristband.

"Not until you get better of course. But I think it would be good for you." Roxas chuckled.

"How do you figure that?" Roxas walked over to his bureau, searching for fresh clothes.

Axel shrugged. "I don't know. It will bring up your strength, tone your muscles."

"Oh, so you want me to tone my muscles huh?" Roxas looked over his shoulder at the red head with a teasing smirk. Axel grinned.

"I bet you'd look sexy with a bit more muscle. Besides, your practically skin and bones!" Roxas snorted.

"You're one to talk. You're almost as skinny as Jack Skellington." Axel sighed and sat up on the bed.

"Can we be serious for a minute here? I really think you need some extra curricular activity. It doesn't have to be the track team if you don't want it to be. I just thought that would be a good idea since you're already a naturally good runner."

"Why do you want me to have an extra curricular activity?" Roxas asked, still rummaging through his drawers. He really needed to clean his bureau out.

"I think it would be good for you, especially after..." He trailed off and Roxas looked over his shoulder at the red head. Axel gestured to Roxas as he spoke. "This."

Roxas sighed, placing a hand on his hip and running the other through his damp spikes. He slowly turned to face Axel then walked over to the bed, sitting beside Axel.

"You really want me to do this?" He asked, looking down at his hands.

"Only if you want to." Axel said. They were silent for a moment then;

"You know," Roxas started, leaning back on his elbows. "I actually used to be on the track team at my school in Twilight Town."

Axel looked over to the blonde with a small smile. "Did you now?" Roxas slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I got kicked off the team though." Axel took note of the mischievous smirk on Roxas's face and slowly raised a brow at the boy.

"And why, pray tell, did they kick you off?" Roxas's smirk quickly blossomed into a full blown grin.

"I punched the captain in the face."

* * *

><p>Roxas stood in his bathroom, staring at his reflection in the small mirror. He wore a nice black suit, that his mother rented for the day, along with a nice dark green tie that had thin slanted black stripes. Honestly, he though it would look ten times better on Axel, but the red head refused to trade his purple tye. Roxas couldn't figure out why though. Axel didn't even look that good in purple. Roxas's hair was a bit more brushed down than his normal spiky blonde hair, his mother made him do it like that, but it just wouldn't stay completely down. When Roxas had complained Axel had laughed and said his hair was just like him. Stubbornly determined to do what it wants. Roxas, who wasn't in a very good mood today, had flipped him off and went about his business. Roxas knew it was true, and on any other day he probably would have chuckled at it and joked with Axel for a while. But today he just wasn't in the mood. Today was most definitely <strong>not<strong> a good day to fuck with the blonde. Because today was the first day he would see his father since the incident.

Today he would testify in court against the man.

Roxas heard a light knock on his bedroom door and he poked his head out of the bathroom. Axel was sitting on his bed, trying to figure out how to tie his tie after Roxas had refused because Axel wouldn't trade ties with him (Roxas mentioned not to fuck with him today right?). Suddenly there came another short knock and his mother's voice to follow.

"Roxas, Axel? Are you boys ready to go? It's almost time to leave." She said sweetly, though there was something in her voice that threw off the effect of her happiness. It was the same thing in her voice Roxas had heard for the fifteen years he'd been alive and the same thing he hadn't heard in her voice for over a month. That was one of the only good things about today, Roxas would never have to hear that emotion in her voice again. Over the years he'd never exactly pinpointed what that emotion was in her voice, he just knew that it was his only sign of her unhappiness.

"Yeah, we'll be out in a minute mom." Roxas replied.

"Okay sweetie. I'm gonna go start the car, make sure you lock up on your way out." And with that Roxas could hear the click of her heels as she walked away. Roxas flicked off the light in his bathroom as he exited then looked at Axel, who was still struggling with that stupid tie.

"Jesus Christ, just get over here." Roxas huffed. Axel looked up curiously at the blonde then frowned and looked back down at his tie as he continued to fiddle with it.

"I thought you didn't want to help me." Axel muttered. Roxas sighed and almost ran a hand through his hair. He thought better of it though when he realized it would probably spike his hair back up.

"Yeah, well that was then and this is now."

"It was like twelve minutes ago." Axel said, looking at him incredulously.

"I don't fucking care okay? Now we're gonna be late if we wait for you to figure out how to tie that damn thing, so could you please just get your ass over here and let me tie the stupid thing?"

"You didn't think it was stupid twelve minutes ago." Axel muttered, but got up regardless and walked over to the blonde. Roxas had to bite his tongue to stop himself from snapping at the red head. He didn't want to get into a fight with him right now, after all, Axel was only coming along with them today for emotional support.

"You're like a wife from the fifties." Axel said with a small smile as he watched Roxas expertly loop the tie into a perfect knot. Roxas simply snorted at this as he tightened the tie around Axel's neck, being sure not to accidentally strangle him with it. Just because he was upset over the tie didn't mean he was going to kill him with it.

Roxas then stood on his tippy toes, placing his hands on Axel's chest to stay balanced and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Come on, we need to get going."

Roxas turned on his heel and walked out of his room, Axel soon following behind him.

* * *

><p>Roxas sat outside the court room with Axel right beside him. His mother was still inside, waiting for the verdict. He'd already testified, and though he wanted to stay with his mother in the courtroom, both Axel and his mother had made him leave out of fear that he may attack the man again. Not that he didn't have a right the first time, but you get the picture here.<p>

So, he was stuck outside with Axel, with, what Axel had described as a vice like grip on his hand. Axel didn't try to pull away or anything though. Even when his finger tips started to turn purple he allowed Roxas to continue. He knew the blonde needed this, other wise he might end up back in that courtroom.

"Are you wearing your wristbands?" Axel asked suddenly. Whether out of curiosity or just trying to take Roxas's mind off of everything he wasn't sure.

"No. They wouldn't fit. They're in my pocket though." Roxas said. Axel chuckled.

"Can't go anywhere with out them can ya?" Roxas simply shrugged. He wasn't really paying much mind to Axel. It wasn't that he was still upset, he was just too worried about his mother to really concentrate on anything else. When he felt his arm pulled up and a warm hand on his wrist though, he was quickly snapped out of his thoughts.

It was like time had slowed as Roxas watched with wide terrified eyes as Axel pulled down the sleeves of Roxas's blazer and white button up, revealing the hundreds of long white scars that littered his wrist.

Roxas found himself holding his breath as he watched Axel, waiting to see what he would do. His brows pinched together, his lips pressed together in a firm thin line and his grip tightening ever so slightly on Roxas's wrist. Luckily for the blonde, none of them were fresh, so they were all scars at this point since he hadn't cut since before he was put in the hospital.

"How long?" Axel asked suddenly, breaking the short silence.

"I-I was twelve when I started. I quit last year." Roxas said quietly, his eyes still wide.

Axel nodded slightly then asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I... I was scared. Of what you'd do or think. But I swear, I'm clean and I have no intentions of going back to that life." Roxas lied. He'd done it plenty before, and though Axel had seen through a couple of his secrets, this one he was desperate to keep. Besides, the only lie he really told was when he quit right? He was clean right now and he really didn't plan to go back to that.

"Is the other wrist like that?" Axel asked. Roxas glanced down to it then slowly nodded his head.

"Yeah, there's just not as much as this one. It's kind of hard to do it with my left hand." Roxas explained. See? More truths. All he really wanted was that one lie, that one teeny tiny lie. Was it asking too much for Axel to believe it?

"I want you to promise me, if you are ever tempted in the future to cut, you'll call me. Okay?" Axel said, looking Roxas directly in the eye. A voice in the back of his head screamed at him to say no while another told him to do the right thing. You can probably guess which one he listened to.

"... I don't make promises Axel." Roxas said, looking away from the older boy, sadly. Axel's brows furrowed, but just as he was about to speak the courtroom doors open and out walked Roxas's mother with tears streaming down her cheeks but a smile placed on her lips.

"Mom!" Roxas said, quickly getting out of his chair and going up to hug the woman. "What happened?"

His mother seemed to giggle and she pulled back to smile brightly at Roxas. "He's been sentenced to life in jail with no chance of parole." She said excitedly. Roxas's eyes lit up as a large smile blossomed on his face.

"That's fantastic!" He said with an equal amount of enthusiasm. Axel stayed seated through their whole conversation, but shot Roxas a look that told him they would be continuing this conversation later.

* * *

><p>Roxas was in his room later that night, playing around on Xigbar's phone since he honestly had nothing better to do while Axel took a shower. And yes, he still refused to call Xigbar's phone his own. Because it wasn't his. He was just temporarily borrowing it. Hell, he hadn't even taken out the numbers or anything. All the pictures were still there, proof that it was Xigbar's because most of them were of him and the older boy. That was the only reason Axel had even known it was Xigbar's phone. He had, however, taken a picture of Axel for the wall paper so it didn't seem like he wanted to be with Xigbar or something. He didn't even want to think about what Axel would do when he got out of the shower, so he didn't even notice when the water turned off or the creak of the bathroom door as it opened and allowed steam to come billowing out.<p>

"Roxas." He ignored it. He didn't want to have this conversation.

"Roxas." He sounded more irritated now, but Roxas didn't even flinch and acted as if he were in his own little world. Next thing he knew though, he was pinned, staring up at piercing green eyes. One hand on his left wrist and the other on the elbow of his right arm, so not to harm him, and he sat on his hands and knees so he wouldn't be sitting on the blonde. There was something off though. Not in his stare or body language, but on his cheek, Roxas spotted something purple.

"I know you can hear me Rox, so stop fucking ignoring me." Axel growled out. Roxas wasn't paying much attention to that though as his brows furrowed and head tilted slightly in curiosity. He started to reach up with his right hand, knowing Axel would try to keep as much pressure off it as possible. Axel was now looking at him oddly as he reached up and rubbed his thumb over the purple spot. Soon enough an upside down purple tear drop was revealed. Roxas's curiosity quickly turned to surprise and anger and he quickly moved to rub at the other cheek.

"What the fuck are those?" Roxas asked, looking up at Axel with anger slowly burning in his eyes.

"This isn't about me, Roxas." Axel stated.

"It's becoming about you! You're not going to sit here giving me shit when you're going around and scarring your own skin!" Roxas snapped. He wasn't in the mood for any of this. Axel had forcibly looked at his scars, he didn't even have Roxas's permission and then on top of that he had to see his father! The only good thing about today was that assholes sentence!

"This is different Roxas! You were harming yourself as a coping mechanism and that was a huge threat to your life if you accidentally cut a vein! Tattoos are art for your body!"

"Oh so your telling me that if I went and got a tattoo when I couldn't cope with my father's beatings it would be perfectly okay?! Yeah, I'll remember that next time I need to cope with life!"

"I'm not trying to cope with anything!" Axel said defensively. Roxas's brows furrowed in confusion. He never...

"I never said you were trying to cope with something." Roxas said, his voice quieter as he stared at Axel in confusion. Axel's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the realization, then he suddenly looked away from Roxas with his eyebrows pinched together and a small frown on his face. He slowly got off of Roxas and walked over to the blonde's bureau, searching around the top drawer where all of his things were being kept. Roxas looked over worriedly at the red head.

"Axel..." Roxas trailed off, hoping for a reply. When he didn't receive one he spoke once more. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it Roxas." Axel said quietly, not even glancing at the blonde. Roxas swore his heart dropped into his stomach at the guilt he felt over this whole ordeal. He slowly climbed off of his bed and walked over to the red head, wrapping his arms around Axel's waist and burying his face into his warm back. Axel stopped his rummaging and his tense body softened in the embrace.

"I promise Axel. Okay? I won't do it anymore." Roxas whispered into his back, the words coming out slightly muffled by as he spoke into his back. He knew Axel heard him though as the older boy sighed and slowly turned around in Roxas's grasp to return the hug.

"Thank you Roxas." Axel said, kissing the blonde atop his head. He couldn't help but find himself praying though that he didn't break this promise.

* * *

><p><strong>And boom! New chapter! My apologies, this should have been up much sooner, but I was working on a sexytimes two shot for the ever awesome StubbornBlonde. Much love, Hun! And much love to you guys too! I can't express how much I appreciate all your love and support! See you all next time! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening!<strong>


	23. Chapter 23

Roxas found himself standing outside the doors of the gym, gnawing at his lip as he contemplated what to do. On one hand, he did want to go join the track team, he loved it back in Twilight Town, it cleared his mind, feeling the wind blow though his hair, his heart pound in his chest and the burning in his legs. It was a better feeling than when he cut. He stopped running soon after he was kicked off the team though. Meaning he hadn't run for over a year now. And that's where his doubts about joining came in. With his year off of being a self proclaimed lazy ass and his new found injuries, he was afraid he wouldn't be as good as he used to be. Plus he didn't want another incident like last time. He knew Seifer had only joined to push Roxas's buttons and try to prove he was better than him. He had joined just before Roxas had agives given the title because he was the fastest at the time. That hadn't deterred Roxas from joining, and after a month he was already better than Seifer, and that's when the discussions about changing captains had started. But with Seifer still in charge he just started to boss Roxas around. Of course Roxas wasn't going to have any of that, so he punched him in the face. Gave him a broken nose too. That he was proud of.

"Hey kiddo, the door isn't going to open itself." A voice spoke from behind. Roxas jumped, immediately regretting the reaction and held his hand over his ribs as he turned to glare at the new presence.

"What the fuck do you want Xigbar?" Roxas snapped. Xigbar's eyes widened slightly and he held his hands up as defense.

"Woah, chill out Roxas. I was just seeing what you were doing." Xigbar said. Roxas's glare didn't let up though.

"Well, you saw, now kindly leave me alone." Roxas hissed. He was in no mood to deal with Xigbar, especially after he just scared the shit out of him, which caused him extreme pain.

Xigbar placed a hand on his hip and ran a hand through his loose hair, a rarity for the older boy. "Jeez Rox, what's your deal?"

"I'm in pain!" Roxas hissed as he pulled out Xigbar's phone, quickly making his way to his messages to Axel.

**_To: Hot Pants_**

**_At gym, need meds_.**

He sucked in a deep breath and tried to forget about the pain as he waited for Axel.

"Are you going to be alright?" Xigbar asked, stupidly (in Roxas's opinion at least). The blonde rolled his eyes and grit his teeth.

"My asshole father kicked the shit out of me. Do you think I'm going to be okay?"

"Physically or psychologically? Cause either way I say yes." Xigbar said with a small smirk. Roxas narrowed his eyes at the older boy, but just as he was about to retort with a string of curse words mixed with how fucked up he is cause of his father, Axel came sprinting down the hall. He slowed to a stop as he came up to Roxas and doubled over, panting heavily as he tried to regain his breath. He held up one hand to Roxas, the blonde's medication sitting in his palm. Roxas's eyes widened and a dark blush spread across his face.

"I didn't tell you to run here!" Roxas said embarrassedly as his brows pinched together.

"Your in pain." Axel panted out, slowly looking up at the blonde. "I didn't want you to have to wait forever for me to walk my ass over here."

Roxas stared at him for a moment then looked away and slowly took the medication from the red head.

"Thanks." He muttered. Suddenly there was a low whistle and the couple looked over curiously at Xigbar.

"Damn kiddo, you got him at your beck and call there don'tcha?" Xigbar said, placing his hands behind his head. Roxas and Axel immediately turned venomous glares on the older boy.

"Shut the fuck up, Xigbar. Axel's a better boyfriend than you ever were." Roxas snapped. Both Axel and Xigbar were stunned by this, left just staring wide eyed at Roxas. Okay, Roxas would admit, that was kind of harsh on his part, but it's not like he didn't mean it. Yeah, Xigbar had been a great boyfriend and he did enjoy the time he had with the older boy, but he wouldn't trade Axel for the world. Saying he was just a better boyfriend than Xigbar didn't describe how much better he was. Compared to Axel, Xigbar was a good boyfriend. Xigbar had been there for him during the rough times, but he didn't make everything okay like Axel did. Xigbar had tried to get Roxas off pain killers and tried to get him to quit cutting, but Roxas was never committed to it with Xigbar. With Axel he truly wanted to stop. Roxas would give up everything to be with Axel. That's how much he loved him.

Xigbar seemed to snap out of his stupor as he blinked a couple times and his brows furrowed. He seemed for a moment like he was going to say something, but then he just turned and walked away from Roxas, leaving both boys to watch his retreating form.

Okay, maybe it was a bit more harsh than he originally thought it was.

"Did you mean that?" Axel asked suddenly, breaking the thick silence. Roxas looked over in surprise then slowly nodded.

"Every word." He said, popping the lid off his medicine and pouring three into his hand then swallowing them dry. Axel suddenly pulled Roxas into a lip bruising kiss, stunning the blonde with his bold actions. Roxas had made it pretty clear in the past that he wasn't too fond of public displays of affections, and though there was no one around, that didn't change that they were in a public area. When Axel pulled away Roxas stared up at him with wide confused eyes and he was breathing a bit heavier.

"What was that for?" Roxas asked.

"Because. I love you." Axel smiled brilliantly. Roxas stared at him for a moment, a light blush on his cheeks.

"I love you too Axel." Roxas said, returning the smile.

"So, what are you doing over here?" Axel asked, changing the subject as he looked at the gym doors.

"I was going to join the track team. Like you suggested I should." Roxas said, looking to the side to hide the light dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"Really?" He asked, looking over to Roxas with slightly widened eyes. He didn't think Roxas was actually going to go sign up. He hadn't even seemed interested in the idea.

"Well, let's go then." Axel grabbed Roxas's uninjured hand and lead him through the gym doors. The gym was empty, but the lights were on and the door on the far end that lead outside was open, the bright light of the sun pouring through it. Axel dragged him across the gymnasium to the open door, where they found the coach standing by the bleachers watching about five students run around the football field. The school didn't have enough room for both a football field and a running track, so they just used the football field for both activities.

"Lexaeus!" Axel called out as he pulled Roxas over toward the extremely large, muscular man. He had short curly reddish brown hair that was slicked back, and though he probably wasn't upset, he sure as hell looked like he was. With how fit the man was, it seemed quite obvious as to why he was the gym teacher.

"Axel." He said in a low gruff voice with a slight nod of the head. "What do you need?"

"Well," Axel started, releasing Roxas's hand and wrapping his arm around the shorter boys shoulders. "Roxas here was looking to join the track team."

The man looked Roxas over for a moment. "Can he run with that wrist?" He asked. Roxas and Axel glanced down at his right hand, then Roxas looked back up with determination.

"Of course I can." He answered. Lexaeus nodded slightly then continued looking over Roxas for a moment longer. Finally though, he made his decision.

"Alright, you'll start tomorrow." He said. Axel grinned and patted Roxas on the shoulder.

"That's great! Thanks Lex!" Axel said excitedly.

"Lexaeus." He corrected. It wasn't really that he was picky about his name, but he was a teacher, and when in the school he preferred his proper name because it showed respect. Every student knew that. The only ones who didn't follow that rule and got away with it were Axel, Demyx and Reno. Axel and Reno were on the same page, seeing as Axel picked it up from Reno. It's not that they didn't respect him, they just couldn't help but refer to people they liked by their nicknames. Demyx was a different story. Demyx, for one, got away with calling him 'Lexy', something no student would dare even outside of school. But Demyx was allowed to because he was not only cute, but a bit dim. He was also Lexaeus' favorite student and it was because of all this that Lexaeus had a sort of protective big brother complex towards the young blonde. So Demyx could essentially do no wrong to the much older gym teacher.

"That's what I said!" Axel called over his shoulder as he lead Roxas back into the school building.

* * *

><p>Axel sat on the bleachers of the football field after school. He was there to support Roxas and make sure he didn't push himself and in turn cause himself more pain. But that didn't mean he couldn't ogle him while he did his stretches right? And with those shorts he was getting quite the show. He'd have to thank whoever made that outfit decision later. Suddenly, there was a sharp whistle blow to Axel's left, indicating the students to get to the starting line. One of the students was counting down from three, just barely loud enough for the others to hear, then with another sharp blow they all took off running.<p>

"They seem very organized." Axel said, mostly to himself, but Lexaeus nodded in agreement non the less. Axel kept his eyes on Roxas the entire time. He moved with grace, as though running came naturally to him, the wind flew through his hair, blowing it back and pushing his bangs from his face, and with the way the suns rays hit his skin he could have mistaken him for a young God. Of course, Roxas would laugh at the mere thought.

"He's fast." Lexaeus said suddenly, surprising Axel. The man didn't normally voice his opinion unless it was asked of him.

"Yeah..." Axel paused, a small smile blossoming on his features as he watched the blonde race around the track. "He is, isn't he?"

He knew this was a good idea, but he still couldn't believe how spot on he'd been with track. He just thought Roxas would be good at it, he didn't think he would be this good though. Nor did he think Roxas would have actually been on track before.

Roxas had almost forgotten how good this felt. His memories didn't do this feeling justice. It was almost like he felt relief. A weight being lifted off his chest. All he knew in that moment, all he could feel, was the wind whipping past him as if it were blowing away all his troubles, his heart pounded against his rib cage and his legs burned from the excercise. If his wrist or his ribs hurt, it didn't even register. He was just lost in the forgotten feeling of his old hobby. It was the only good one he'd ever picked up on. Then all too soon it everything came to an end as he was snapped out of his stupor by a sharp whistle blow. He blinked and looked up curiously at Lexaeus as he slowed to a stop. He had on his same stoic expression, big muscular arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Good job. That's all for today." He said lowly in his deep voice.

Seriously? That was it? It felt like he'd only run for ten minutes. Then again, he wasn't paying much attention, how many laps had he gone?

He was breathing heavily as he made his way over to the bleachers, where Axel was sat with a big grin on his face. The pain was now starting to kick in, but it wasn't as bad as he had been expecting it to be.

"Damn Rox, you did great!" Axel said, standing from his seat.

"Thanks." Roxas breathed out as he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"How many laps did I run?" He asked as they started to head for the school building. He nodded at Lexaeus as he passed him and the older man gave him a firm pat on the back that sent him stumbling forward. He would have fallen face first onto the ground if Axel hadn't grabbed him. He smiled at Lexaeus before answering Roxas.

"Twenty. Twenty five. I didn't count but I think that's what Lex said. You were ahead of everyone though, it was amazing." Axel explained, following Roxas into the gym. "Are you in pain?"

"Just a bit. I'll be fine though." Roxas stopped right outside the changing room then turned to Axel. "Let me change real quick and then we can get going, alright?"

Axel smiled slightly and nodded his agreement then pecked him on the head before he disappeared through the changing rooms double doors.

* * *

><p>Roxas sat in his last class before lunch. He was waiting for Axel to get there since class had yet to start. His fingers were quickly tapping away at his desk as he stared out the window while gnawing at his bottom lip and bouncing his leg up an down. He was anxious, paranoid and ready to bolt at the drop of a hat. He hadn't cut for over two months, and it wasn't really getting to him till now. He'd been off his pain medication for a week now and he was going through withdrawals. He'd thought with track things wouldn't be this bad, but things had only seemed to get worse in life since he joined. Xigbar wouldn't even look at him, and though Roxas knew it shouldn't bother him, it did. He tried to apologize to him, but Xigbar would just walk away once he heard Roxas's voice.<p>

Then there was Larxene. She had more or less taken up the title of the worst part of Roxas's life since his father had been put in prison, and though her torment couldn't come close to what his father had done to him, she was ever so slowly working her way up there. Hell, she'd even called him worthless just a couple days ago. Then the day after that, she'd asked why Axel was even with Roxas and said it had to be the sex or something. Now, even though Roxas knew that was wrong and that he hadn't had sex with Axel since they had gone to Twilight Town, his fucked up brain had trouble accepting the facts and rather took in what the blonde bitch said and believed it.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Axel entered the class room with Demyx, Larxene and Marluxia right behind them. He scowled at the sight of the blonde, but put on his best smile as Axel took his seat beside Roxas's.

"Hey, you alright babe?" Axel asked with his own smile. Roxas nodded slowly.

"I'm fine. Just been thinking." Roxas replied.

Axel chuckled. "Well, be careful. Don't want you to hurt yourself."

Roxas forced a chuckle at the joke, but he got the feeling Axel could tell it was fake. He was just far too observant for his own good.

"Hey fags!" Larxene's obnoxious voice cut in.

"Larx. Marly, you're looking especially fairy like today. Are you wearing body glitter?" Axel said, leaning back in his chair and flashing his cheeky grin. Larxene let out an ear piercing laugh that caused everyone in the class room to cringe at the sound.

"Oh Axel, it just wouldn't be a good conversation if you didn't take a shot at Marluxia's sexuality, now would it?" She said with her usual evil smile.

"I guess. Now did you want something or can we get on with our lives?" Axel said, looking suspiciously at Larxene.

"Actually, I do have a purpose for talking to you losers today." She turned her gaze on Roxas for a moment an he could swear his heart stopped in his chest. What the fuck could she possibly want with him now?

Suddenly her eyes turned back to Axel and, if it was at all possible, the grin on her face widened. "I was just wondering if you knew your little boyfriend here hangs out with this high school student sometimes. What was his name again...?"

If Roxas's heart hadn't stopped before it had now. His face completely drained of color and he felt his stomach wrench like he was about to hurl. She wasn't. She couldn't even possibly know about that. When they did hang out during lunch they'd find the most secluded place they possibly could. And it was so rare, it's not like a person could wait for it. It was only a couple times when Roxas hadn't felt like eating and Xigbar decided to follow him.

"Oh I remember! Xigbar right?" She asked Roxas as if she'd actually forgotten and was making sure. Roxas felt his stomach wrench again, and he almost gave in to the urge to curl into himself at the feeling. He knew Axel was looking at him by this point, but he couldn't look at him. He knew if he did he might actually throw up. Larxene smiled triumphantly, obviously knowing she'd hit right on the mark with this one, then turned on her heel and headed to the front of the class with a small wave over her shoulder.

It was silent for a moment as Axel tried to gather his thoughts while Roxas tried not to hurl. Demyx just sat there stunned the entire time, and it was painfully obvious that he had no clue what to do.

"Roxas?" Axel started quietly, breaking the silence between the boys. Roxas still couldn't make himself look at Axel, so he gave a slight nod of recognition.

"Roxas look at me." Axel said, his tone more forceful.

"I can't." He whispered while taking deep breaths.

"Roxas have you really been hanging out with Xigbar?" Axel asked. Roxas slowly nodded. He couldn't lie to Axel, and he had this sneaking suspicion that bitch knew he couldn't.

"Why? W-Why do you need to hang out with him when you have me? Am I not good enough?" He hissed, slowly getting angrier as he spoke.

Just as Roxas was about to respond the teacher walked into the room, demanding silence. He immediately shut his mouth and went back to biting at his lip, but with much more vigor than before. His fingers still tapping, but now on the leg that wasn't bouncing insistently. His taps were off beat though as he was shaking terribly. His breathing, though he tried to keep it even, was coming out in short gasps as he felt his chest tighten. He could swear everyone in the class was looking at him, even though subconsciously he knew he was just being paranoid. He couldn't take it anymore. He was having a panic attack, and he knew what would calm him down. He just had to get out of the fucking class room before he could do anything.

Ever so slowly he raised his shaky hand and cleared his throat. The teacher stopped his lesson to call on Roxas.

"Yes mister Osment?" He asked with a raised brow.

"C-Can I go to the bathroom?" He asked quietly. The teacher stared at him for a moment then simply nodded and turned back to the chalk board.

"I suppose so. Just hurry back." And with that Roxas shot out of his seat, grabbing his bag and hurrying out the back door of the class room. He practically ran down the hall way to the closest bathroom and threw open the door. Thankfully no one was in there. He hurried into the stall, locking the door behind him and pulling his bag open, he dug around for a moment before producing his emergency pain medication. It had been in there since he picked up his addiction again and he never bothered to take them out. He was thanking god for that now. Next he reached into his pocket, pulling out his second favorite blue knife that Hayner, Pence and Olette had all chipped in to buy him for his birthday one year.

He quickly worked off his wristbands and stuffed them into his pockets before going about taking the child proof lid off the medication. Just as it popped open his knife slipped from his hand and skid under the door.

"Shit!" Roxas hissed as he shakily opened the door. It sat near the sinks, and, upon spotting it, he dropped to his knees and scooped it up. He quickly poured four pills into his hand and popped them into his mouth, swallowing them dry as he flicked open his knife. As he turned his hand over some pills spilled out of the small plastic container, but he couldn't find it in himself to care at that moment. His hand shook as he brought the knife to his wrist. A picture of Axel popped into his mind, but he quickly shook it away. Fuck what he told Axel. Fuck promises. He needed this, he couldn't take it any longer. He'd have a fucking break down if he didn't do this right now!

And since he was so lost in thought it didn't register when the creak of the door opening resounded through out the bathroom. Or the soft thump of foot steps coming up behind him.

"Roxas..." A familiar voice broke through his thoughts. His heart stopped in his chest and he slowly squeezed his eyes shut as his grip tightened on the knife in his hand. He began to silently pray in that moment that it was just his imagination and that it would disappear when he opened his eyes again. But when he felt a warm hand wrap around his wrist and gently pull it away he knew he was just kidding himself.

"Fuck."

* * *

><p><strong>So, a part of me feels like most of this was filler. I don't know though. Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be the final one, as sad as I am to say this. But I do hope to see you all in later works! Much lover to you all, I really appreciate all the love and support I've received through out this story. You've all been so fantastic, and I can't believe all the amazing people I've had the pleasure to speak with through out! I love you all! Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening!<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

Axel was sitting in the class room, glancing at the door every two seconds as he lightly tapped his foot against the floor. Roxas hadn't been gone for three minutes, and already he wanted to run out the door after the boy. From the moment he walked into the class room he knew something was wrong, hell, he'd been acting a bit off for the past five days. But something was definitely wrong today. He was a lot more on edge. He hadn't gotten the chance to pry though when Larxene decided to come up and drop a fucking bomb on his head. He'd been pissed, but he still found himself looking at Roxas when class started, and his anger slowly started to fade away as he watched the blonde try to fight off a panic attack. And then he just up and ran off to the bathroom. With his... Bag? Why did he need his bag?

Axel's eyes widened as realization struck him like lightning. He shot out of his seat, gaining the attention of the entire class room as he bolted down the isle and out the class room door. He ignored the teacher as he tried to call him back. He was going to get in big trouble, an he knew it, but Roxas was far more important than anything right now. Running was so not his forte though. He was already tired by the time he got to the bathroom. He stopped right outside the door, taking a couple deep breaths before slowly opening the door. He released a sharp gasp as his eyes widened, landing on the blonde in the middle o the bathroom. He sat on the disgusting tile floor, his wristbands pulled off and stuffed in his pocket. He held a bottle of pills in his left hand, some of the pills having spilled onto the floor as his hand was flipped over so his scarred wrist faced upwards. In his right hand he held a blue knife and the silver blade was pushed against the scarred flesh as he visibly shook.

"Roxas..." Axel said slowly, carefully so not to starle the blonde. Roxas visibly tensed when he heard Axel and he noticed the grip on the knife tightened suddenly. Panic shot through his body as he worried that Roxas might swipe that blade across his soft pale flesh even with Axel there. He quickly stepped over to the blonde, crouching down and gently grabbing his wrist, knowing it was still hurting, then pulled his arm back so the knife was safely away from his wrist before he pulled it from his tight grasp.

"Fuck." Roxas breathed out as Axel pulled his arm away. When he released it his hand dropped into him lap as he started to shake again. Not as violently as he had before, but enough for Axel to be able to notice.

"Roxas." He said again, a bit more firmly to gain the others attention a he flipped the knife closed an stuffed it into his pocket. Roxas just barely turned his head to show that he was listening, but Axel didn't want him to listen right now. He wanted him to look at him.

"Roxas, look at me." Then, as if to purposefully tick him off, Roxas turned his head farther away from Axel.

"Roxas!" He said sternly, finally gaining the boys attention as he whipped his head around with a horrible attempt to glare at the older boy. He was far too over come with, what appeared to be fear, for him to give a good glare. He felt his chest tighten at the sight of the blonde's face and he quickly pulled him into a hug, surprising the younger boy.

"Roxas you promised." He said quietly into the golden locks. He heard a choked sob, slightly muffled by his chest, then Roxas started to tremble in his arms as more sobs echoed through out the empty bathroom and Axel could feel his shirt getting wet with tears. They sat there for a few minutes, Axel rubbing his back as he allowed Roxas to just cry in his arms. They weren't alone for very long though as Axel heard the door open behind him. He whipped his head around to see a random student, standing at the door in bewilderment at the scene before him. He quickly bolted out though when Axel turned a deathly glare on him for his intrusion. When he turned his attention back to Roxas, who was slowly pulling away as he wiped at his eyes. He kept his eyes on the floor as he took a couple deep breaths.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly, a slight whimper to his voice as he spoke.

"For crying?" He asked stupidly. He knew it was a stupid question, but that's all he could think of at the time. Roxas chuckled and shook his head.

"No. For almost breaking my promise... And for not telling you the whole truth. This is why I didn't want to promise you. I was afraid something like this might happen, and I didn't want that." Roxas explained.

"Wait, what didn't you tell me?" Axel asked, looking curiously at the blonde. Okay, maybe he was a bit oblivious. But he wasn't concerned with that right now.

Roxas slowly held up the bottle of pain killers and stared at them. It was a sad look, but it was almost... Longing too. It kind of scared him.

"I'm addicted to pain killers. I used to take four every day till the incident. Then I had to take them for my ribs and my wrist."

"And now your going through withdrawals." Axel finished when Roxas did not. A hand covered his eyes as he slowly nodded his head. Axel sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of what to say next. He watched as Roxas slowly curled into himself, his legs pressed tightly to his chest as he hugged his legs and rested his head on his knees.

"Please help me, Axel..." He whimpered out, his body starting to shake slightly as he began to cry once more. "I don't want to do it again. I don't want to live like this."

Axel's brows pinched together as he turned his gaze on the tiles and scratched the back of his head.

"You're going to hate me." He said quietly. He heard a sorrowful chuckle from the blonde.

"I don't think I could possibly hate you." Roxas choked out. He sounded amused, but he knew the blonde was being serious. Axel sighed once more and got off the floor, running a hand through his hair.

"Come on." He said, reaching his hand out to Roxas to help him up with a soft smile on his face. "Let's get you cleaned up then go back to class."

He knew that going back to class meant facing his utter doom, seeing as he would definitely get detention for just running out of class like that. But it was worth it in his mind. He kept Roxas safe, and that meant more than anything in the world to him.

* * *

><p>Axel quickly weaves his way through the crowded halls of his school. He had detention soon, but he had a quick stop to make before then. Though the halls were currently packed with students, as he made his way over to this area the students were growing thin to the point that he didn't even have to watch where he was going. He still did though as he searched for the unforgettable head of pink hair. Soon enough he finally found Marluxia at his locker, Larxene next to him as she waited for him to gather his things. He marched over to his locker, glare settled on his face and hands balled into fists. Larxene was the first to notice him as he approached with a sadistic smile.<p>

"Hey fag." She said. Axel ignored her though, walking right passed her and grabbing Marluxia's shoulder to turn him around. The pink haired boy slowly turned to face the red head, brows pinched together in confusion. Axel didn't even give him time to blink, for once he was facing him the red head reared his fist back and hit Marluxia square on the nose. Marluxia fell back into his locker, his hands flying up to grab his now bleeding nose. Larxene gasped in surprise at the action, looking at Axel incredulously.

"What the fuck, Axel?!" She yelled. Axel turned his harsh glare on her and took a step forward.

"You leave Roxas the fuck alone, or I swear to god you both will be walking away with a lot worse than a broken nose." Axel said in a low venomous voice that seemed to actually startle the blonde. "Do I make myself clear?"

Larxene nodded slowly, glaring at Axel, then with a quick nod he turned on his heel and stalked away, heading for his detention.

* * *

><p>Roxas was sat in his room when Axel walked through the door with a small box in his hands. Roxas watched him curiously as he disappeared into his bathroom for a minute. He could hear him rummaging around, then as he reemerged he stalked over to Roxas's desk and started going through the drawers.<p>

"What are you doing, Axel?" Roxas asked as he slowly got off his bed and made his way over to the red head. He looked into the small box and saw all the pills and liquid medicines from his bathroom. And his... Razor?

"I'm removing the temptation." Axel said as he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled out three knives from the bottom drawer and dropped them in the box on top of all the medicine. Roxas blinked in slight surprise, but said nothing. He understood the reasoning, and even if he said something it would just blow up into an argument that neither of them would want to have. So Roxas went and sat back on his bed, watching as Axel rummaged through his belongings for all sharp objects. He finished up in Roxas's closet and the box was almost full. Did he really have that many knives?

Axel was heading towards the door, but paused just short of it and turned on his heel towards Roxas. The blonde raised a brow as Axel walked over to him then held out his hand.

"Hand it over." He said. Roxas cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Excuse me?"

Axel rolled his eyes and sighed, placing his hand on his hip. "Your knife. I know you always carry two on you, now I took your blue one, where's the other one?"

Roxas's brows furrowed and his lips pursed in irritation. "I don't have another knife on me Axel. You have all of them."

Axel huffed and placed the box on the floor, Roxas watching curiously. Then suddenly, Axel pinned him to the bed. His eyes widened as he stared up the the red head that was straddling his hips and pinning his arms to his sides. Slowly, he leant his face down to Roxas's then pressed his lips against the blonde's. Roxas was beyond confused, but as Axel continued kiss him, the younger quickly found himself melting into the kiss. He barely noticed when Axel released his injured arm and started to feel at his hips. And he didn't notice when that hand dipped into his right pocket. It didn't click in his head what the red head was doing until Axel pulled out of the kiss and held up Roxas's favorite knife. The switchblade Axel had given him.

"You didn't have another knife huh?" Axel said with a triumphant smirk. Roxas's eyes widened in horror as Axel climbed off him with his knife. He picked up the box and started to head for the door.

"Axel no! You can't take that one!" Roxas said as he shot off his bed and ran in front of Axel, blocking the exit.

"And why not?" He asked, looking at Roxas incredulously.

"Because it's special dammit! I promise I won't use it for that! I promised myself when I got it!" Roxas said determinedly.

"Yeah, cause we all know what promises mean to you!" Axel rolled his eyes and placed his hand on his hip.

"Axel I swear on... On Zack's grave that I won't use that knife on myself!"

"Why do you need this so bad Roxas? Don't you want to get better? Because I'll tell you now Roxas, you won't shake this addiction if I leave you with this knife!" Axel snapped. Roxas could feel the tears pricking at his eyes, but he held them back for the time being, not wanting to cry in front of Axel again.

"Axel please! You can take anything you want, just not that knife. I'll do anything if you just let me keep that knife." Roxas pleaded. He felt like he was about to go into hysterics over the whole thing.

"What is your problem?! Why is this knife so fucking special?!" Axel yelled, startling the blonde, making him jump and press himself into the door. He was bracing himself, but for what? Axel didn't understand, why was he bracing himself? He couldn't give it much thought though as he was too angry about the current situation.

"Well? Why's it so special?" Axel asked impatiently. Roxas mumbled out his answer, but Axel couldn't understand what he'd said.

"What was that?" He snapped. Roxas suddenly looked up at him with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes.

"I said; you gave it to me jackass! But if you can't even remember something that fucking important then keep it!" He barked out, finally moving to the side and crossing his arms over his chest. Axel was taken aback by the outburst, but he quickly recovered, only to narrow his eyes at the blonde.

"Fine! I will." Axel said, opening the door. The minute he stepped out it slammed loudly behind him. He settled a glare on the large piece of wood.

"I told you you'd hate me." He quietly muttered before stomping his way down the stairs and out the front door.

* * *

><p>Roxas felt terrible about their fight moments after it happened, but he wasn't going to apologize. That was his favorite knife and he still hadn't used it for his addiction, and he never planned to. No matter the internal battle that would possibly ensue, he loved that knife too much, and he would never defile it for something so petty. So for the next week Axel had ignored Roxas, just as the blonde had ignored him. They didn't even sit next to each other in class, making it obvious to everyone, including the teachers, that they were having problems. It wasn't long before students started spreading rumors of their none existent break up and teachers that actually cared stopped them after class or in the halls to ask if they needed to talk. Demyx, though not involved in the fight, was also having issues with all of this. He didn't know much about what was going on, but he was having issues figuring out which one to spend his time with. Axel had been his best friend for years, but he didn't want to leave Roxas on his own. But he was also worried he'd upset Axel if he hung out with Roxas. The decision was made for him though as Roxas told him to just hang out with Axel. Every now and again though he'd catch Demyx staring apologetically at him.<p>

Then, to top it all off Xigbar still wasn't talking to him. He would have been fine with that if Axel was still talking to him. At least then, upsetting the older boy would have been worth it, but without Axel it just seemed pointless and he was slowly starting to feel even more terrible for it.

After school one day he had finally been able to catch Xigbar. He was standing outside the junior high entrance, seemingly waiting for someone. Roxas looked at him curiously and stopped to watch him. He wasn't running away or anything, just staring at the ground and trying not to acknowledge Roxas.

"Xigbar?" He said cautiously, as I the older boy would suddenly vanish. He glanced up at the blonde, but said nothing. Roxas balled his hands into fists around his backpack straps and looked at the ground as he contemplated what to do.

"I'm sorry." Roxas said quietly. That got his attention. He turned his gaze to the blonde then closed his eyes with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's fine." He said. His voice sounded broken. Roxas looked back up at the older boy, brows pinched together.

"No it's not. Otherwise you wouldn't have been ignoring me. I went too far and I understand that. It wasn't nice to say and I'm sorry." Roxas said. Xigbar looked at him suspiciously.

"This doesn't have to do with you and Axel fighting does it?"

"No! I wanted to apologize before, I just thought it would upset Axel if I had." Roxas explained, placing a hand on his hip and running a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Look, I don't care if you never talk to me again. I just wanted to let you know I was sorry for what I said. I'll leave you alone now."

Roxas turned and started his way down the steps, but was stopped by a light chuckle from behind him.

"You don't know how much you just looked like him kid." Xigbar said amusedly. Roxas turned back to look curiously at the elder.

"Come give me a hug and your forgiven tiger." Xigbar said with a smirk. Roxas stared at him for a moment then looked around cautiously before stepping back up the stairs and allowing Xigbar to pull him into an embrace.

"So what's going on kiddo? What happened with you and Axel?" Xigbar asked as he pulled away from Roxas.

"He took all my knives. Including my favorite one." Roxas explained, looking at the ground.

"You mean the blue one your friends gave you?" Xigbar asked. Roxas slowly shook his head.

"No. Axel gave me a really nice switchblade for Christmas and he forcibly took it from me." Roxas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That was the nicest thing anyone had ever given me, it meant a lot to me and he just fucking took it! I hadn't even used it once to cut and I had no intentions of ever doing so."

"He's just trying to help you Roxas."

"He didn't even know why it was so important to me Xigbar." Roxas asides, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the ground.

"Hey-" Xigbar started, placing a hand on Roxas's shoulder, but he was interrupted as the school doors swung open and Axel came walking out. He stared at the two of them for a minute then anger contorted his face and he walked past them in a huff. Roxas's eyes widened and he looked between Axel and Xigbar, trying to figure out what to do.

"Axel wait!" Roxas said quickly, hurrying down the steps and after the red head, leaving Xigbar looking after his retreating form worriedly.

"Axel!" Roxas said, grabbing his arm, only to have it yanked from his grasp as Axel turned on him. His skin was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. His tattoos under his eyes weren't covered with make up, but rather standing out and seeming darker in contrast to his skin.

"What? What do you want Roxas?" Axel snapped, making Roxas cringe and take a couple steps back so he was out of arms reach. He didn't know what to say. He hadn't really thought much on what he would say to him, he just knew he needed to stop him when he walked past.

"I-I don't... It's just I... It's not..." He struggled with what to say. If he said the wrong thing Axel would be even more angry. Finally though, Axel became rather irritated and with a huff he turned on his heel and walked away from the blonde. Roxas stared after him sadly, tears welling in his eyes. He looked back at Xigbar, who was still in front of the school, but was now talking with Larxene and Marluxia. His eyes were on Roxas though as they spoke. Larxene's attention was solely on Xigbar, where as Marluxia appeared captivated by his nails. The pink haired man looked like shit though as he had bruising around his nose.

Roxas stared at Xigbar for a minute before biting his lip and turning back around, heading for home.

* * *

><p>Roxas walked into his room, slamming his door behind him and locking it. His mother wasn't home yet, but even so he didn't want to be bothered. He stood there, in the middle of his room, just staring at the floor.<p>

"Son of a bitch!" He yelled, kicking a random book on his floor and raking his fingers through his hair. He stood there for a moment before he went about wrecking his room even more. He threw any books on his floor at the wall along with his pillows and a mug full of pens that sat on his desk. He then proceeded to toss the papers and school books off the wooden surface, making papers flutter through the air towards his floor.

He gripped his hair as he plopped onto his bed, staring down at the floor as tears ran down his face. Several papers fluttered in front of him, some of them random notes that Axel would pass him in class others pieces of scrap that he'd use for homework. As he saw some of Axel's scrawled hand writing, he remembered something. The note Axel had given him along with his Christmas present. He never read it...

He slowly got off his bed, getting on his hands and knees and searching through the papers, picking up everything with Axel's hand writing till finally he came across a familiar piece of paper with his name scrawled neatly across the top. He sat himself on the floor, Indian style, and unfolded the letter, slowly reading over the neat lettering.

_Roxas,_

_I would try and say something really awesome that explains what you __mean to me, and how much I love you, but I'm really bad when it comes __to words..._

_ I love you more than anything else in the world, you always  
>make me happy when my days have been absolute shit, and you mean more<br>to me than life. I've loved you for a while now, and will continue to  
>love you until the end of time.<em>

_I'm always a little worried though,  
>because I'm afraid I'll do something to make you hate me and leave me and go back to Xigbar. Because everything I make contact with seems to break.<em>

_ I love you Roxas. Commit it to memory._

_Forever yours,_

_Axel_

Roxas felt his throat constrict while he read the letter, and each time he had to remind himself how to breathe. Tears were streaming down his face and his chest ached more with every word he read. He gripped the letter tightly in his hand when he finished, just staring at it then hugged it to his chest, doubling over as his body was wracked with tremors. Loud sobs escaped his mouth as tears flooded from his eyes in a non stop stream.

* * *

><p>Roxas walked into the cafeteria the next day, determination clear on his face as he looked over all the students for the red head he was in search of. He honestly hadn't gone to lunch for the past week, not wanting to be the weird kid sitting alone in the cafeteria and not wanting to see Axel. He felt like something bad would happen if he did. Today was different though, cause today was the day that this stupid dispute. ended.<p>

Finally, he spotted the red head, sitting with Demyx and idlely listening to Demyx as he picked at his food. He weaves his way through the students and tables till he got to Axel's table. The older boy either didn't notice him or was flat out ignoring him as he seemed to show no recognition as Roxas stood before him. He pulled the neatly folded note out of his pocket. It was wrinkled some from him hugging it the day prior and from being in his pocket, but other wise it was in perfect condition. He then proceeded to slam his hands down on the table top, note in hand. That finally got his attention.

Demyx jumped, but Axel just looked up at the blonde, anger written clearly on his face.

"What?" Axel snapped, clearly not wanting to talk to the blonde. He looked just as tired as the day before and his tattoos were showing again, even though it was against school rules.

"I'm fucking done with this." Roxas said firmly. Axel's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Done with what?" He asked.

"This fight! It's fucking retarded!"

"This isn't retarded Roxas! I'm just trying to help you, but you're too fucking stubborn to let me do that!"

"You know that's not true Axel! I let you go through all my things and take all my fucking knives! I understood and I accepted it, I didn't try to stop you!"

The entire cafeteria had gone silent at this point and all eyes were on the arguing couple. Roxas knew this, but he payed it no mind, cause he knew if he really started to think about it he'd find a way to chicken out and walk away. And they weren't ever going to get back to normal if this wasn't handled.

Axel suddenly stood from his seat, placing both hands on the table top like Roxas. Said blonde cringed slightly at the action, but otherwise held his ground rather nicely.

"Oh is that right? So why is it that when I wanted that last one you decided to freak out? Huh? Why was that knife so God damn important?!"

"Because that was the nicest thing anyone has ever given me! And you went through so much trouble to make it this amazing, one of a kind knife! And it's not like it came from like Demyx or Xigbar! It came from you! You, my boyfriend!"

"It's not like I was going to throw it away! I was going to hold onto it until I could trust you with a fucking knife again!"

"Um... Guys?" Demyx's quiet voice cut in. Axel and Roxas's heads whipped around to look at the other blonde with glares fixed firmly on Demyx.

"What?!" They snapped in unison.

"Well, it's just... You guys are making a terrible scene."

"I don't care!" They yelled before turning their glares back onto each other.

"Axel, you're being childish!" Roxas snapped.

"Excuse me? I'm being childish?!" Axel asked incredulously.

"Well you're the one that's been ignoring me like a child!"

"And you're the one that's been talking to your ex behind my back!"

"That's such bullshit! You wouldn't even fucking care if it weren't for the fact that we dated! You're just jealous because we had a good relationship and you're worried that I'll leave you to go back to him!"

"And so what if I am! You'd be pissed if I left you to go back to Demyx!" There was a resounding gasp through out the cafeteria and Roxas glanced over to said blonde to see him hiding his face in his hands.

"Yeah, I would be fucking pissed! But I'd shut the fuck up and get over it! Because if that's what you really want and he makes you happy then that's- ow!" Both Roxas and Axel grabbed their heads as a fist collided with the top of them.

"Now listen up you bloody wankers. I don't know what this fight is about, but from the sounds of it your both acting like childish little fucks! And dragging poor Demyx into this spat is just ridiculous and unfair to him! He's got nothing to do with this fight! Now if you want to have your little blow up fight I suggest you do it else where when the entire school isn't around to hear. Do I make myself clear loves?" Luxord said, hands on his hips and looking rather irritated over the whole thing. Axel and Roxas nodded slowly. Luxord nodded once, satisfied with his work, then moved over to Demyx, who he took along with him to a different table.

Roxas and Axel looked at each other for a moment. The cafeteria was deathly quiet as all eyes were still on the couple. Axel was the first to move, reaching his hand up to run through his hair. Roxas misunderstood though and quickly took a step back, staring at him with wide eyes. Axel's brows furrowed as he looked confusedly at Roxas. Just as he was about to speak the blonde turned and quickly walked away from the red head, leaving Axel staring after him. He finally sat down with a huff and stared sadly at the table as regular conversation refilled the cafeteria. As he sat there he noticed a folded piece of wrinkled paper sitting on the table. He stared at it for a moment before curiosity got the better of him and he snatched it off the table. As he slowly unfolded it he noticed there was a second piece of paper. One of the notes had his hand writing, he recognized it as the letter he'd given Roxas with his Christmas present. The other was in Roxas's hand writing. It was a poem.

_The utter silence_

_A fragmented tale_

_A world without you?_

_Some how,_

_Life wouldn't seem fair_

_Like a guardian angel_

_You've saved my life_

_My grace,_

_You have given me_

_New serenity this night._

_I'll love you forever and even after then, so please forgive me for all my past sins._

_Forever and always,_

_Roxas_

* * *

><p>Roxas was just leaving the gym after practice, bag slung over his shoulder as he stared down at Xigbar's phone. He was texting Demyx about that afternoon. He'd told him he was sorry before practice, not wanting to start shit between the two best friends just cause he told him to his face. When he finished track he noticed his reply from Demyx then as he got ready to leave they started talking about what had been going on. Apparently Axel hadn't told him a thing. And Demyx wasn't one to pry so he just left it be.<p>

So, he was texting Demyx as he left the gym, not paying much attention to his surroundings, this he didn't notice the red head that stood right outside the gymnasium doors.

"Hey Blondie." Axel said, making Roxas's head snap up in surprise at the sound of his voice.

"Axel..." He greeted slowly, cautiously.

"You left something in the cafeteria." He said, holding up the folded piece of paper. Roxas nodded slowly.

"I know." Roxas said, slowly taking the offered paper and shoving it in the pocket of his hoodie. Roxas nodded his thanks after a moment of silence between the two then he started making his way down the hall. Axel watched him for a moment then;

"Are you afraid of me?" He asked. Roxas froze mid step, his body tensing slightly. He took a moment to breathe before he slowly turned to look questioningly at the red head.

"Excuse me?" He questioned. Axel rubbed the back of his neck as he slowly started to make his way down the hall, towards the blonde.

"Whenever I yell, you cringe away from me. If I move my hands too suddenly you brace yourself like I'm about to hit you. You did it a week ago when we got into this fight. You backed yourself into the door and braced yourself. Then you stepped away from me in the cafeteria when I went to run my hand through my hair. You did the same thing on Christmas Eve after Reno called me. I didn't realize till today though what you were doing." Axel explained stopping just as he came up to Roxas. He stared down at the blonde, brows pinched together and a frown on his face, his eyes shining with worry. "Do you really think I'd ever hit you?"

Roxas stared up at the taller boy, unsure of what to say. He seriously remembered all of that? He payed that much attention, even through his anger?

"I would never hit you Roxas. I couldn't live with myself if I did." Axel said, slowly reaching up and running his fingers along his cheek.

They stood there for a moment just staring at each other in the deserted hall way.

"I'm sorry." Roxas said, breaking the silence. "For everything. I should have told you about Xigbar and I should have trusted you wouldn't thrown out the knife."

Axel bit his lip and scratched the back of his head. "I actually had every intention of throwing it out, until you reminded me that I gave it to you. I guess I just didn't think the knife would mean that much to you. I'm sorry for making such a big deal out of all this and making you so upset."

Roxas couldn't even find it in himself to care that he originally intended to throw out that knife as Axel pulled him into a hug.

"Just take good care of it okay?" Roxas muttered into his chest.

"I don't need to." Roxas looked up at the red head curiously. "I'm going to let you have it back. But if you use it to harm yourself I'm taking it back. Got it?"

Roxas stared up at the red head with wide surprised eyes.

"Really?" He asked as a smile started to spread across his face. Axel smiled back at the blonde as he nodded then reached into his back pocket, producing the switch blade. Roxas practically squealed in delight when he saw his precious blade then slipped his arms around Axel's neck, pulling him down into a deep loving kiss.

"I love you." Axel said as they broke the kiss, looking lovingly at the blonde. Roxas beamed at the red head.

"I love you too."

Roxas and Axel broke away from each other, Axel handing the knife over to Roxas, who immediately slipped it into his right pocket.

Axel slipped his arm around Roxas's shoulders as they started to make their way out of the school to head home.

"I think you need to tell your mom about this." Axel said suddenly, startling Roxas.

"What?!"

"You need to tell your mom about your addictions." Axel reiterated.

"Why?" Roxas asked nervously. He didn't want to tell his mother. She's fucking flip. She'd throw out anything remotely sharp in the house and all the medicine would go in the trash. He didn't really care about that, but she'd even get rid of the letter openers.

"Because I'm not always going to be around to make sure your not cutting or taking pain meds. I need someone to watch you while your at home."

"Can't you just live with me forever?" Axel chuckled and shook his head.

"I wish I could, but my mom would kill me." Roxas pouted and bit his lip, contemplating what to do.

"Fine, but only if you tell me why you got those tattoos." Roxas said. If he was gonna do this he was going to get something out of it for himself. Axel made a face and seemed to think it over for a moment before he finally responded to Roxas.

"Seemed like scarring my skin for life was a better idea for dealing with depression than conning adults into buying me cigarettes so I could smoke my problems away." Axel explained.

"You were going to smoke?" Roxas asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah. I figured you'd smell it on me though, so I decided a tattoo would be better." Axel joked, but he didn't found very amused.

"Why were you depressed?" Roxas asked, slightly confused by the current information he'd received.

Axel shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Zack's death, you getting put in the hospital. Plus my father's death was on my mind."

Roxas slowly nodded in understanding.

"Do you know the doctor's said there was a possibility that you wouldn't remember anything when you woke up. That scared the shit out of me." Roxas's eyes widened and he had to take a couple deep breaths to calm himself down.

"I didn't know that." Roxas said breathily. Axel slowly nodded his head.

"I was so scared, I thought you might forget me." Axel admitted. "But anyways, you'll tell your mother now right?"

Roxas sighed and slowly nodded. He wasn't happy about it, but he'd do it.

* * *

><p>Roxas had been right, his mother freaked out about the news and immediately headed for the knife drawer to toss it out. Axel had to stop her of course, thinking she was taking it a bit far. After all, she couldn't really cook without knives. Nor would they be able to cut their food when eating. He explained most of the situation, informing her that he had taken all of Roxas's knives but one and that he tossed out all his medications in his bathroom. She seemed quite alright with Roxas having the knife when she found out that Axel had entrusted him with it. As expected though, once Axel had left she tossed out all the medicines in the house and found a place in the kitchen to lock up all the knives.<p>

Life became pretty alright after that. His relationships with Axel and Demyx became stronger after the whole ordeal. Luxord had also become a good friend with the group. He avoided Xigbar for the most part, not wanting to upset Axel again. And he didn't really need him. Opening up to Demyx about his fight with Xigbar had opened the door for him to talk to Demyx about any Axel related problems. Larxene had stopped bothering him, seeming to much rather avoid the boy like the plague. Roxas wasn't complaining though. And for a while he still had the urges to cut, but he always managed to shake them off, just taking to getting his mind off it with either homework or calling Axel. Or his hobby that he had picked up after reading Axel's note. Poetry. He was pretty good at it, blowing away his English teacher when he actually started trying in class.

Also, with his father in jail, he was able to spend more time at home with his mother, learning more about his deceased brother and even getting to see what pictures his mother had been able to take of the baby before his death. It surprised him to see how much the boy had actually looked like him.

Things were good, and months started to pass quickly for Roxas. Graduating from junior high came and went, then summer vacation happened. Roxas spent every day with Axel and Demyx. He even got to revisit the island across from the main island and Twilight Town again. They'd even taken Demyx with them once. When they visited Twilight Town with Demyx they'd gotten to talking about the old mansion.

"When we're older, we should buy this place." Axel said suddenly as they were sitting around the fire place. Roxas and Demyx shared a confused look before turning their gazes on Axel.

"Dude, this place is a dump!" Demyx said, looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

"So we fix it up! I'm going to be a psychiatrist, Roxas will be a writer and you'll be a musician! We'll have the money." Axel said excitedly. As the two blondes continued to stare at him like he was crazy he let out a disappointed sigh. "Come on guys, don't you think this would be a really nice place to live? I mean, we fix this place and it will look amazing! Plus it's nice and secluded, we wouldn't have to deal with any of the nonsense in town cause most people here are afraid of the woods. It's perfect for us, don't you think?"

Roxas stared at the red head. His eyes sparkled with mirth as he spoke excitedly about the house. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"Yeah, I do... I think it's a great idea, lets do it." Roxas said, smiling brilliantly. Axel grinned back with equal enthusiasm. Soon enough Demyx caved and agreed with the couple. They then spent the rest of the night talking about the old house and all of the things they'd fix up.

Soon enough, summer vacation passed and school started up again. They were going into high school, and they couldn't be more excited. Reno was now in college, so Axel couldn't get rides from his brother anymore and was now stuck riding the bus. It was now a week after school had started, Roxas and Axel sat together with Demyx in the seat in front of them. He was sitting with his back to the window so he could look back at Axel and Roxas to talk to them. Since he wasn't paying much attention, only Axel and Roxas noticed when the bus stopped and a new student got on the bus. Axel was the first to notice and slapped Demyx on the arm.

"Check it out. New kid." He said. Demyx looked up at the boy that was slowly making his way down the isle. Long slate colored bangs covered the right side of his face. He kept his gaze down, but they could still see his cobalt eye. He wore a straight black hoodie over his dark blue t-shirt and gray skinny jeans with old beaten up black converse. He wasn't very tall either, appearing around Roxas's height. The blonde would be delighted by that fact.

Demyx's eyes widened at the sight of the boy and he quickly moved to stop the boy.

"Hey! You can sit here!" Demyx said quickly. The boy blinked a couple times in confusion before a nervousness swept over his features. Demyx moved his bag off the seat beside him, placing it in his lap then patting the seat while beaming up at the boy. He hesitated for a moment, but the yell of the bus driver telling him to sit made him quickly take the seat while clutching his bag to his chest.

"Are you alright? You look kind of scared." Axel said, looking a bit worriedly at the boy.

"It's his first day Axel, of course he's scared." Roxas said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well you weren't scared your first day in high school." Axel countered. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"That's different Axel, I had you and Demyx with me. Plus we already knew Luxord. He doesn't know anyone yet, so of course he's going to be nervous."

"Don't mind them, they do this a lot." Demyx said to the boy with a smile.

"Anyways, I'm Demyx and this is Axel and Roxas." The boy nodded slightly as he seemed to relax into his seat.

"I'm Zexion." He said quietly, holding out his hand for Demyx to shake. Roxas and Axel quickly turned to look at each other questioningly before turning their attention back on the boys in front of them.

"It's nice to meet you guys." Zexion said as Demyx shook his hand.

"Like wise!" Demyx smiled brilliantly. Though the couple didn't miss the flash of disappointment on his face when Zexion said it was nice to meet them.

"Here we go again." Axel said quietly as they watched the boys converse.

"Let's just hope they have it a bit easier." Roxas said as he slipped his hand into Axel's.

"I don't know." Axel started, squeezing Roxas's hand. "I don't think I'd change a thing about everything we went through."

Roxas smirked. "Even me getting the shit kicked out of me?"

Axel thought it over for a moment.

"Though I hate that it happened, no I wouldn't. If that hadn't happened your father wouldn't be in jail right now and you'd still be dealing with that asshole. So no, I wouldn't." Axel explained. Roxas nodded slightly then rested his head against Axel's shoulder. They were silent for a moment, then;

"I love you, Blondie." Axel said suddenly. Roxas glanced up at the red head then smiled, closing his eyes as he relaxed into the older boy.

"Love you too, Red."

* * *

><p><strong>I kind of can't believe this is over. I'm gonna miss this story.<strong>

**Anyways, I'd like to dedicate this story to someone really special. You've been there for me through thick and thin. You've helped me through some of the hardest times in my life and you'll never truly understand just how much that has meant to me over the years. At the stake of being a complete and utter dork, I have to say, your the Axel to my Roxas, the Masamune to my Yukimura or even the Dante to my Nero. That's right, I just went video game on your ass. But anyways, you mean the world to me. I love you with all my heart and will continue to love you into eternity. You know all there is to know about me, even things my best friends and brother don't know, and that's why this specific story is dedicated to you. You were my inspiration as I wrote this story. Thank you for all the love and kindness and support that you have given me over the years. I love you hun, forever and always :) :P**

**Now, I would like to thank all of you lovely readers for all your love and support through out this story! It means a lot to me, and I hope that you guys will stick around for future stories that I will write.**

**StubbornBlonde (aka DatGuest) You have been amazing through out this entire story, and I have to give a huge thanks to you. You're just one of the most amazing people I've ever met, and it's all because of this that I can now call you a friend. Thank you so much for everything! Much love to you as always!**

**Xionnevermore, you have been such a joy to talk to and do business with! And I promise you I will get your Akuroku plushies to you as soon as I possibly can! I'm just trying to figure out Roxas's jacket! But even when our business is done I do hope you'll keep in touch, cause you are just so awesome to talk to!**

**Yukisaintclare, you have probably been one of the sweetest and most amazing person I've ever had the pleasure of talking to! You wrote me a poem for this story, which is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, and I feel so honored by you for all your kindness! I can't thank you enough hun!**

**Lazy. Elegance**

**Yushikoyuki**

**ALostNobody**

**Roxie Pox**

**MidnightsFantasy**

**Raiden Amour**

**SympatheticMemories**

**Tobi-luvs-Itachi**

**Amazing Salmon**

**Twilighttimefan**

**Hellomoto27**

**And to those who didn't leave a name, thank you all so much for your amazing reviews! I love you all so much, your so fantastic, and you guys are why I continue to write!**

**This is my final farewell for this story! So I bid you a goodnight, good morning, good afternoon and good evening!**


End file.
